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| Osprey Stella at Sherborne |
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| Stella surveying Broadwater for possible lunch |
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| Resident mute swan flying towards mate by boathouse |
This thursday turned out to be a good 'birding' day despite the gloomy cloudy weather on offer. Locally I enjoyed seeing a number of playful long tailed tits dodging in and out of my apple and pear trees plus a brief appearance of a tiny gold crest nestled in one of my shrubs. On the morning walk with the dogs we came across a green woodpecker and a yellow hammer. In spite of the weather I decided to take a trip to Sherborne's Broadwater to hopefully see the widely advertised Osprey. Over the years an Osprey has been reported in the Sherborne area but not for long before it resumes its journey to its nesting site on one of the Welsh or Rutland water reserves. This year it seems to have decided to stay for at least a week. On arriving at Sherborne I cautiously followed the Sherborne brook from the 'kennels access' and was lucky enough to see an egret, swallows, grey wagtail and a female bullfinch. Quite close to the upper weir the Osprey made a dramatic appearance before settling in one of the tall oak trees on the far bank opposite North park. It made another flight towards the boat house before I lost sight of it. At the same time a red kite flew by followed by the entrance of the local shepherd on quad bike with tractor & trailer. I decided to make a slow retreat back to the car since I judged the Osprey may stay clear of the activities taking place. Later I learnt I'd missed an opportunity to see a second Osprey arrive at the Broadwater but I'm not complaining having seen my first Osprey in the 'wild'.
Spent today with the GWT at Greystones with Emma leading a large contingent of volunteers. We headed for the 'burn' site where a healthy amount of brash in an adjoining field needed to be collected, cut and placed ready for burning. After a slow start a healthy bonfire was created and the sizeable amount of brash was slowly consumed.
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