Another murky but mild start. Lots of bh gull activity, plenty of Med gull still present. 2 common tern & 2 Sandwich tern visible at the moment. C.100 blackwit and close views of redshank and greenshank #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

A dull start to the day... yesterday saw the return of the first 2 common terns and the forst large red damselfly and holly blue butterfly.... summer is trying its best! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Huge numbers of bh gull on the lagoon this evening, plus close views of blackwit and barwit. Gulls Nesting islands looking very busy! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Or even NOT the best photo 😅

It the best photo but the first common lizard of the year for me on Brownsea yesterday. Lovely! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @arc-trust.bsky.social

First dark edged bee-fly of the season, a pretty good moth trap, 17 Sandwich terns (and 1 Forsters), 4 WT eagles, 2 crossbill and a red kite. What a day! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Reed bunting on bird feeders this afternoon took exception to this one blue tit... tolerated all the others. Even the other tit on the feeder was hostile towards it.... why just this one bird? #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Bumped into this gorgeous fella today. Isn't he handsome! 😍 #FoxOfTheDay @chrisgpackham.bsky.social

That's it...with the exception of a few wet paint signs we are ready to go... 2026 season commences tomorrow 😁 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

The windy weather is bringing in huge numbers of blackwit to Brownsea today. Right outside the Avocet Hide and spread right across the lagoon. Brilliant and very noisy! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

We've done a bit of clearing work the past few days... looks drastic but necessary as the garden wall needs rebuilding urgently (its retaining a lot of soil behind and the Villa itself so structurally very much needed!). Also adding a new access ramp... #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

A murky start but busy in the reedbed with bh gulls, Cettis and my first reed bunting of the year. Couldn't see much on the lagoon. Back at the Villa coal tit and blue tit having territorial battles... #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

My first Brownsea blackcap of the year singing near the Vinery this morning. No sign of Forsters but 2 Sandwich tern, plenty of bh and med gulls and a couple of common gulls nice to see #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Worth getting up early for... first breeding bird survey of the year and what a morning for it! Songsters included treecreeper, nuthatch, siskin, stock dove, plus plenty of blue tit, great tit, chaffinch and robin. Also GS woodpecker drumming. Lovely! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Forsters tern briefly popped into the lagoon just now and then vanished... good to see though! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

No Forsters tern spotted on the lagoon today but plenty of other characters to watch out for #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Fairly distant but good views of the 10 glossy ibis at Wareham Common today, plus two Egyptian geese and a single distant lapwing. Herring, med and black-headed gulls very busy. Water levels still very high! #WarehamCommon @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Going through more pics from #LytchettFields yesterday and had to share... never realised how grumpy greenfinches look from the front 😅💚

Lytchett Fields today... basking adders, marsh harrier, spot red, amongst many other lovely things. Worth wading through the almost-over-welly-depth Watery Lane for! #LytchettFields @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

@harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Glorious views of WTE pair G463 and G466 right overhead, gracefully soaring, and calling loudly. Worth getting a bad neck for 😅 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Ham Common Lookout this afternoon... Dartford warbler calling, plenty of greenfinch, vocal crows, close pass by red kite and huge flocks of gull gathering as the tide fell #HamCommonLookout

A brilliant busy day at #UptonHouse yesterday and a gorgeous Brownsea morning today... Cettis singing in reedbed, grey wagtail along boardwalk, bh gulls in full voice and checking out nesting islands, and sounds of water vole along the diagonal path #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Looking for things to do on a rainy half term day? I'll be heading over to #UptonCountryPark today with a Brownsea stand for this brilliant wildlife event... come and say hi! 😆 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Frogspawn appearing overnight, geese getting bolshy, wood ants doing renovations and primroses starting to show. Despite the rain, in the patches of sun things are starting to stir... ✨️🌀🩵🍃 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

What a day for waders! Huge numbers of blackwit (c1500) and dunlin (c800). Spectacular murmurations from both. Plus shelduck really liking the new tern islands @bsky.app won't let me share vids... sadly! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Tern islands time! The reserves team came over to Brownsea today to help us start on the annual weeding and re-gravelling of the lagoon nesting islands. A chilly and very muddy but productive day 😃 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Huge flocks of blackwit on the lagoon today... perfectly timed for the first @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social winter members day! #WildBrownsea

Horizontal rain hammering in through the window, shaking hide, restless birds and waves on the lagoon... great day for a bird count! 😃😅 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

'Excuse me human, I'd like to stop you and remind you it's #RedSquirrelAppreciationDay today.... Thankyou for listening!' #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

It seems the wind has pushed everything to the eastern end of the lagoon... at least 400 blackwit all huddled outside the Lookout... great views! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Big flocks of waders on the lagoon at the moment... a few hundred blackwit, avocet and plenty of teal, wigeon and Brent geese visiting... busy! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

A bit of extreme fence removal on the north shore today... in freezing winds but glorious sunshine. Removing rusted old fencing in order to create new protective enclosures for shrubby seablite growing on the shoreline #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Another day of frozen lagoon. Frost remained on the boardwalk and beaches all day, lakes frozen solid too. Very little on the lagoon, mixed flocks of tits, gold/fire crest and others busy in the woods #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

A gorgeous chilly day @rspb.bsky.social Arne... large numbers of teal, wigeon, shelduck, Brent geese. Distant lapwing, merlin and marsh harrier, flocks of redwing and goldfinch... all in all a good day! ❄️✨️

Frustrating being at Triangle Hide, Studland in the (small!) hope of spotting beaver (amongst others), only for a family to arrive within feet of the lodge and spend a while throwing stones in the water and making lots of noise... better luck next time! 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️ #Studland @nationaltrust.org.uk

A mostly frozen lagoon this morning, birds squeezed into one place... c.200 avocet, 100+ teal, 20 mallard, shoveler, gadwall and shelduck. Not many waders but prob somewhere with more mud/liquid water! ❄️ #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Festive wishes to all. Morning wanderings turned into a walk round the whole island... gorgeous chilly day 🌟🎄✨️❄️ #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Fascinating fungi... ascocoryne sarcoides, otherwise known as purple jelly disc, growing on an old log #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

When you can't stand up outside and there are sizeable waves on the lagoon it's time to retreat.... #WildBrownsea #IndoorDay @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Flocks a little squashed together as the lagoon water level slowly return to normal after the new nesting island construction work. Should be more mud for them soon! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Wondered why the small birds around the Villa were shouting a lot this morning... this gorgeous juv (?) sparrowhawk also seemed to be thinking 'what's all the fuss?!' #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Gulls enjoying the new nesting islands again this evening 🩵 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Huge gull roost this evening... at least 3500....maybe more. Many of them already moved onto the brand new tern islands right outside the hide #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

More excavating, more tern islands starting to appear... and more totally unbothered waders 🤷‍♀️😅 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Gorgeous swan family on the lagoon today 🩵 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Work has begun on the new tern islands in the lagoon... birds totally unbothered...redshank feeding on the freshly turned mud while the digger was working! 🤷‍♀️ #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Loving the sheer autumn-ness of everything! 🍂 #WildBrownsea

Waiting on Poole Quay for the boat home and watching dozens of gulls heading towards the lagoon for their night time roost 🩵❄️ #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/environment/... Very sad to read.....