Will they, won't they, start to nest near Poole Harbour?
I am sure we are all aware of how the little egret has spread as a nesting species in this country in the last twenty or so years and that raises the question; will its cousin, the spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), follow suit? Spoonbills actually nest quite nearby in Holland and a pair have bred in Somerset recently so the prospects are good.
In Poole we have had wintering birds in recent years spending a lot of time on Brownsea Lagoon and at Middlebere Lake. In 2008 six young birds stayed in the area all year and raised hopes they would start to nest but the following they spring they disappeared. There now seems to be a small colony almost resident in Poole Harbour and the numbers wintering here continue to grow. So we wait to see if they settle and breed.
