Coach trip to RSPB Arne with East Berks RSPB, September 2017

Unfortunately there was to be no dreamy Indian summer day for this trip, since the forecast looked dodgy to say the least. However, our luck was in, with a bright sunny morning that held long enough for most of us to spend time on the open heath, and much of that at the viewpoint at the south-west corner overlooking Middlebere Lake

This year, half a dozen young Ospreys were relocated to a release pen on Poole Harbour to imprint them on the site in the hope of repeating the success of the Rutland project in creating a future breeding population there. These youngsters were now flying free and some could be seen perched in some distant trees. From time to time one would make a circuit of the area and, in doing so, would turn the patches of white and grey down in the marsh into flocks of swirling birds made jittery by the presence of the raptors in the area. As a result we could more easily count the largest white birds properly. These just happened to be Spoonbills and there were 24 of them in that flock, distinctly larger than the few Little Egrets. A supporting cast of Black-headed Gulls already contained one or two Common Gulls. The grey birds were Black-tailed Godwits and there were literally hundreds of those, with smaller numbers of Redshanks. Eventually a greyer wild adult Osprey showed up, did a circuit, and dived without fuss to fly off with a large fish held torpedo-fashion. If the rain had forced us home at that point, that spell alone was worth the journey.

As it was, we were able to fit in a lot more. There was a scattering of passage Wheatears, the odd Stonechats, and a pair of Ravens overhead. We didn’t, however, locate the Great Egret that was reported to be somewhere in that area. As we came back, the dragonflies around one pool included at least one Black Darter.

The rain did start for real at about 1 p.m., just after we had taken to the wooded area to make for Shipstal Point. The trees afforded enough protection to save us a soaking and while we sheltered a mixed flock of small birds flitted about nearby: these included Treecreepers and Chiffchaffs. A small number of Sika Deer moved under the trees in the nearby field and we found a larger herd later. As we neared the point we could see good numbers of Curlew and other waders in the marsh, but the number of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins over the marsh was almost as impressive. From the high viewpoint the storm clouds looked spectacular over the wonderful scenery as we enjoyed a lull, but then a Dartford Warbler popped up nearby to distract us. As we came back by the outer path, a roost of gulls was worth checking, since there were a dozen Sandwich Terns with them. Nearby, a Little Egret was standing belly-deep in the still water to dabble its bill like a lure for the small fry that were bubbling the surface.

Thanks to the tree-cover we returned through more heavy rain no more than a bit damp, and celebrated the finish with a good cuppa at the newly-refurbished visitor centre-cum-cafe. A good day out!

Ray Reedman