Dorset

26-27 May - A quick visit to Durlston on the Dorset coast on arrival on the south coast, on the last of the hot sunny days - a couple of flyby Guillemots seen. A beautiful if quite breezy afternoon with a slightly hazy, fine view. Downshay Farm provided a restful and convenient base for our trip to meet old friends. The following day was cloudier following an overnight storm, but a visit to Brownsea Island was rewarding as always - after a walk around the island the 9 of us all went to the DWT hides on the lagoon, and the real bonus was 2 Roseate Terns on a sandbar - complete with pinkish flush, black bills and overall pale, short-legged appearance. One of my favourite seabirds and a south coast rarity - indeed, they had gone the next day. A lot of activity at the Sandwich Tern and Common Tern colonies, busy with nest-building and pairing up. A few passage waders still present - Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwits, together with a few breeding Oystercatchers.