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.....

Plenty of brents calling this morning, at least a dozen spoonies, redshank and curlew very vocal. Big flocks of tits, goldcrest and chaffinch. Siskin and redwing overhead. Busy autumnal morning! 🍂🕸 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Large numbers or cormorant too... some roosting in the Villa Rd trees and easily spooked... photo taken from middle of a bramble patch 😅 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Huge gull roost on Brownsea this evening. At least 2500 maybe more. 90% herring, but a couple of hundred gbbg and a few lbbg too. Wonderful sight! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Glorious autumn colours despite the dull day 🍂✨️🩵 #WildBrownsea

Early start and running for the first boat but still managed to pick up a small flock of redwing over Church Field and the castle grounds. Good start to the day 😊 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Huge flocks of cormorant leaving the harbour, curious herring gull, fishing egret and the last boat of the season sailing into the sunset 2025, that's a wrap! #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social ✨️🩵

Gorgeous calm morning and plenty going on...including 39 spoonbill and a large flock of avocet. Teal, gadwall, shoveler, shelduck, redshank, greenshank spread widely across the lagoon #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Gorgeous day today... plenty of egret, female kingfisher catching breakfast, 1000-strong cormorant fishing party in the harbour, and spot red/greenshank interaction right outside the hide ✨️🩵 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

The @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social Brownsea lagoon was packed this AM Avocet 320 Grey Plov 3 Curlew 26 Blackwit 293 Barwit 22 Redshank 157 Greenshank 14 Knot 4 Turnstone 5 Dunlin 94 Spoony 56 in AE & NC2F @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @wildontheroad.bsky.social #DorsetBirds

Evening lagoon: 170+ cormorant with more incoming, several hundred herring gull in the growing winter roost, spoonies feeding and kingfisher still on the go #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Wt eagle just made a slow pass over Brownsea lagoon causing the usual chaos. First one I've seen in a while... (No vid as @bsky.app still won't let me post any) #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Busy lagoon in the rain this morning with spoonies (c60), avocet (c150) actively feeding. Plus at a quick glance with bins at least 100 redshank and 70 or so blackwit. #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Good news! ✨️ @rspb.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Great views of kingfisher from the Avocet Hide this afternoon ✨️🩵 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

A slightly murky day today, but a flock of 20 or so crossbill and then half a dozen redwing over the north of the island cheered it up. Reports if 2 lapwing on the lagoon too 😊 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

'Only' 69 spoonies on the lagoon today... we may have reached our peak count?! Close to the Tern Hide this morning snd great views again... just get a load of this stunner 😍 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

85 spoonbill feeding off north shore as the sun sets 🥰 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Last night's absolutely stunning Harvest (Hunters) Moon... 🩵✨️ #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

100+ spoonies again today... wonderful sight to see them feeding actively all over the lagoon 🩵 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

A gorgeous start to the day and good to see 94 spoonies back on the lagoon after yesterday's kite surfer disruption 😍 #WildBrownsea @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Absolutely nothing was separating this guy from his dinner 🌰😅 #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Gutting to see our regular group of 100+ spoonbill have all been flushed by kite surfers out of bounds in the harbour this afternoon and haven't returned. Really hoping they decide to come back tomorrow #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Bumped into this handsome sika stag yesterday evening. Proudly high-stepping, wallowing and tree scraping to mark his spot and impress the ladies #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

115 spoonbill again on the lagoon this morning...well spread across the whole area and very actively feeding #WildBrownsea @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social