Arne RSPB & Best Wall RSPB - Fri 18 Apr

A trip down to the RSPB reserve at Arne today with the family. So with picnic lunch packed we set off, arriving at around 10am and taking the walk from the car park out to Shipstal Point and back again. It was surprisingly quiet on the bird front, with the pick of things on offer being a singing Tree Pipit. With the tide being in it made for poor viewing with regard to any waders, just a few Curlew and Redshank about.
After our picnic lunch we set off to Wareham and I had a quick look over Best Wall RSPB reserve, nothing! Well, there were loads of gulls wheeling around overhead before they passed off eastward, mainly Black-headed Gulls but a good number of Mediterranean Gulls in with them...a really distinctive call helped separate them. I finally had a signal on my phone and a quick check of the pager informed me of an Osprey at Arne, so back in the car and back to Arne.
Some ten minutes later we were back and I took off, heading straight for Combe Heath and within a few minutes had some great views of the Osprey perched on the same post where I had seen one last year. Heat haze and distance made it tricky to get any sort of half decent photo.

Walking back to the car a Stonechat was seen and a small flock of Black-tailed Godwits flew through. A nice day out with the family and a couple more year ticks.