A busy morning for the BoPH team kicked off with our special Up With The Lark cruise focusing on bird sounds for International Dawn Chorus Day! Sailing up the River Frome we were immersed in the songs of Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Blackcap and Skylark whilst newly arrived Swallow and Swift soared overhead. Guests also enjoyed views of a pair Bearded Tit, Marsh Harrier, and a Red Kite mobbing the 2 White-tailed Eagles, who shortly later caused some trouble of their own, chasing male Osprey 022 in an attempt to steal the fish he had just caught off the Holton shoreline. At the same time the other members of our team and a group of volunteers were out on the islands in the Wareham Channel, surveying the breeding gull colony under licence. A record total if 278 Mediterranean Gull nests were logged, along with 3,568 Black-headed Gull nests which is a decrease on the 2021 total of 3706.

Also of note this evening were 2 Spoonbill on Brownsea Lagoon, and at Swineham the drake Garganey was present once again along with 2 Cuckoo.

Wareham Channel Black-headed & Mediterranean Gull colony (surveyed under licence)

Male Osprey 022 with a fresh fish and White-tailed Eagles G466 & G463 in pursuit – Robin Morrison

It feels and sounds like there’s still another arrival due of spring migrants with multiple species seemingly on the low side. Blackcap, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat to name a few. Passage waders are also a bit thin on the ground, but as we move into May this should sort it’s self out. It was encouraging to hear that on Brownsea today the first passage Sanderling dropped in and there were high counts of 115 Common Tern and 205 Sandwich Tern. The Forster’s Tern was also on the lagoon around 1pm and then again this evening in the roost. There were 3 White-tailed Eagle over Lytchett Bay this afternoon, at Swineham, the drake Garganey reappeared on the ‘Stilt Pool’ with 2 Little Ringed Plover there and 50+ Common Swift over the gravel pit. At Morden Bog it seemed like Woodlark city with birds singing pretty much across the whole site along with singing Tree Pipit this morning and a fly by White-tailed Eagle. This evening Nightjar were heard at RSPB Arne.

Common Tern colony – Brownsea Lagoon – Martin Adams

Today we had a female Osprey from our Translocation Project return to Poole Harbour for the first time ever! The two-year-old ringed 372 was released in 2021 and was first seen back in the UK as an adult only last Friday, on the Osprey nest at Llyn Clywedog in mid-Wales. Since then she’s clearly covered considerable ground, as this morning at 9:04am she landed on one of the artificial nests in Poole Harbour. Previous females that have returned from the project have all dispersed to Wales and stayed there, so we were very pleasantly surprised to see her return to Dorset. No doubt she’s come back to Poole Harbour to scope out any breeding opportunities, and if she stays around over the coming weeks should could be in luck, with the potential for any of our five translocated males from 2021 to also arrive back any day now. It’s so encouraging to see her back in the area, and there’s a chance she may even put in an appearance on the livestream camera at some point if she goes to check out CJ7 and 022s nest.

Elsewhere, the Forster’s Tern was seen on Brownsea Lagoon at 1pm having potentially been on a hunting trip with a flock of Sandwich Terns along the coast to Hengistbury Head where one was sighted this morning. Back in Poole Harbour, Lytchett Fields held 2 Common Sandpiper, 12 Whimbrel and 4 Greenshank on the high tide, along with 1 Osprey and 1 White-tailed Eagle over the bay. Two Red Kite were seen over Sandford and Organford, and in Poole town centre both adult Peregrine were seen making trips to the nest, the male arriving with Starling prey. More Nightjar were also reported back on the urban heathlands around Poole last night.

Translocated female Osprey 372 on a Poole Harbour nest today

It’s been a quiet day for sightings despite the lovely sunshine – the strong easterly winds coming through this week could make for some interesting arrivals. The Forster’s Tern has continued to show, moving from Lytchett Bay this morning and onto the Brownsea Lagoon early this afternoon, landing amongst the Sandwich Tern. 1 White-tailed Eagle was reported drifting over the Wareham Channel near Rockley this morning. House Martin activity has continued near Lytchett Fields, which is nice to see after trialling the call playback yesterday next to the House Martin Tower, with individuals collecting mud from the car park close to the tower.

House Martin collecting mud – Lytchett Fields – Ian Ballam

We had a bit of a result today when the House Martin Tower we installed last summer at Lytchett Bay/Fields car park finally saw a bit of action with first prospecting House Martins of the year. There’s a colony close by and we’d been waiting for the first birds to arrive back, which they did over the Bank Holiday weekend, so decided to try and play a short bit of play back to entice birds in…..and enticed they were. Within about 5 minutes several House Martin dropped down and flew up into the structure to have a look, before then moving off again. Although these short visits won’t necessarily mean they’ll nest this season, we’re hoping that with a few more attempts at drawing them in this May we can hopefully get a few pairs to settle within the structure this summer, and therefore expanding that particular population. We took a short video which shows the first birds entering the nest cups this morning.

Bird wise it was a tad quiet, but the Forster’s Tern was still on the Brownsea Lagoon mid afternoon. A White-tailed Eagle flew over Lytchett Bay towards the Wareham Channel, there were 3 Little Ringed Plover on Lytchett Fields with 2 Yellow Wagtail overhead, and last night the first 2 Nightjar of the summer were heard churring briefly on Rempstone Heath.

Another month bites the dust! Welcome to May, as the year seems to plough on at the speed of a bullet train. It only seemed like yesterday that we were waiting and hoping for the safe return of our Osprey pair. Now we’re in the month that (all being well) will see their three eggs hatch by the end of the month. This morning, from our Spring Safari it was nice of male Osprey 022 do a fly by past Swineham and past our boat as he headed back towards the nest site with a humungous Grey Mullet. Also from the cruise this morning an aerial food pass was seen between one of the Marsh Harrier pairs, with another two seen elsewhere in the Wareham Channel, the Forster’s Tern was on the Brownsea Lagoon, today with a Little Tern as well as c100 Sandwich Tern and c80 Common Tern. The White-tailed Eagles remained elusive although 1 was seen over Lytchett Fields later in the afternoon where there was also 1 adult Little Gull in Lytchett Bay. There were also 2 Little Gull off the Upton CP shoreline at Holes Bay. A drake Garganey was on Holme Lane GP briefly. A count along the Two-rivers walk (down the Frome and up the Piddle Valley) returned 1 Great White Egret on the Stilt Pool at Swineham and 52 Reed Warbler, 8 Sedge Warbler and 30 Cetti’s Warbler.

Sandwich Tern and Forster’s Tern – Brownsea Lagoon from Spring Safari Cruise – John Thorpe

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Despite no rain being forecast for this morning, a steady band slowly passed on through, depositing multiple hirundines along the way with Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin gathering in numbers around Swineham and Arne Moors, along with 5-10 Common Swift. The Forster’s Tern was on the Brownsea Lagoon again by midday along with decent numbers of Common Tern and Sandwich Tern now on their breeding islands, courting, displaying and mating. Around the Swineham/Arne Moors area there was a minimum of 3 Great White Egret and a Marsh Harrier was over Swineham Point. A White-tailed Eagle was in the Wareham Channel, sat out on Shag Looe spit and a mixed flock of c100 Black-tailed Godwit, c30 Dunlin, 4 Grey Plover and 1 Whimbrel were in the mouth of the Frome. Around Hartland both Cuckoo and Hobby were seen, there was a single Yellow Wagtail on the Stilt Pools at Swineham.

Forster’s Tern – Brownsea Lagoon from Spring Safari – Alison Copland

Great White Egret – Swineham from Spring Safari – Alison Copland

Whimbrel – Swineham from Spring Safari – Alison Copland

What a stunner of a day, despite the thick fog early doors. Best of the day was the Forster’s Tern being seen again on the Brownsea Lagoon, although it wasn’t located at any other site during the course of the day. A Garden Warbler was in the PCW Drain, there were 8 Reed Warblers singing around Holes Bay this morning and a total of 7 Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper by Twin Sails Bridge. An Osprey was seen in Lytchett Bay this morning, a Great White Egret flew past the Ham Common viewpoint and there were 12 Whimbrel in Middlebere. Yesterday 4 different Great White Egret were present by late evening with 1 on Arne Moors and 3 in the Frome Valley. Swifts were passing over in small numbers during the course of the day, the White-tailed Eagle pair were in the Wareham Channel for a few hours after sunrise.

Garden Warbler – PCW Drain, Fleetsbridge – David Foster

Another eventful day with yesterdays murk melting away over night. It was great to see the Forster’s Tern re-appear this morning with news it had been seen in Middlebere, then off Shipstal point, Arne and then back on the Brownsea Lagoon again by late afternoon. Chances are it just went undetected during yesterdays foul weather. A check of the gull islands this morning for signs of bird flu highlight that for now, all is well, and in fact, the islands currently look well stocked with Mediterranean Gulls. We’ll be out on the morning of May 7th surveying the gull islands under licence, with the aim of establishing a full breeding total for both Black-headed Gull and Med Gull. A quick count this morning logged 135 Med Gull spread across the three islands. Also in the Wareham Channel the White-tailed Eagle pair looked settled out on Shag Looe spit, before taking off around 10am, gaining height and drifting off towards the coast. This afternoon a big push of Swallow and House Martin came through with several hundred passing over on a broad front, in with them were 11 Swift. This morning a Glossy Ibis crossed Arne Bay, heading towards Poole, and at Lytchett Bay this morning 19 Whimbrel headed off north and 4 Wheatear were across the site. In Brands Bay there were still 2 dark-bellied Brent Geese and there were also 10 Whimbrel. 

However, the best (and now almost predictable news) today was that one of our 2-year old Ospreys from our 2021 translocation returned back to the UK for the first time. This is incredibly early with most 2-year olds not arriving back until later in May or even June! The twist is like twice before, this female, known as 372, didn’t return here to Poole, but in fact dropped in briefly on a nest site in Wales…..just like 014 and 019 have done in previous years. We were sent a screen grab today from John Williams of 372 briefly landing on a nest cam at the Llyn Clwedog site. This is great as it means the 2-year olds are now on their way, although it would be nice if a few more ‘Poole Males’ dropped by…..we’re sure they will over time. All great stuff though!!

A now typical scene with White-tailed Eagle pair G463 and G466 in Wareham Channel this AM