FOR the first time in 30 years, there has been a confirmed sighting of a puffling on the vertiginous Purbeck cliffs. The news of the puffin fledgling gives hope for Dorset’s dwindling puffin colony, says the National Trust, which manages the Dancing Ledge area. The sighting follows monitoring by 13 volunteers who spent 150 hours…
FOR the first time in more than 140 years, bitterns have bred at the RSPB reserve at Lodmoor, near Weymouth. It is the first breeding record for Dorset since 1883. The female bittern has been seen making regular feeding flights across the reserve, providing strong evidence that chicks are being successfully reared. Although the fledglings…
A TINY bird that is easy to miss, but which has a distinctive song, is back from the brink of extinction with nearly 100 pairs at RSPB Arne this year. The Amber listed Dartford Warbler suffered from a population crash in the 1960s, leaving only a few pairs in Dorset and the species on the…
JUST a year on since the first beavers were released into the wild at Studland, the natural eco engineers have been transforming woodland, dramatically reshaping part of the local landscape and turning a previously dense area of woodland into a thriving wildlife-rich wetland. The pair have built an extensive dam which has slowed the flow…
ANYONE who has followed the growing success of peregrine falcons finding lofty nest sites on our ancient cathedrals and other high buildings will probably know that Salisbury Cathedral now has a long-established peregrine roost on the tower. This year the peregrine pair had four eggs and for those who keep an eye on the peregrine-cam…
THE National Trust is restoring areas of wood pasture on Purbeck, as part of a project to amplify nature’s chorus. Wood pasture is a prime habitat for our much-loved songbirds, like this beautiful thrush. One of the UK’s most biodiverse habitats, wood pasture is a mosaic of grassland, scrub, hedges and trees. It provides important…
WORK is under way to restore and re-wet peatland at Holt Mire near Wimborne, to protect a rare floating spider and flesh-eating sundew plants. Holt Mire is an important peatland habitat on Holt Heath National Nature Reserve, one of the largest areas of lowland heath in Dorset, cared for by the National Trust. The restoration…
IF you are of a whimsical turn of mind (or a fan of Beatrix Potter), you will think “Squirrel Nutkin” when you see this beautiful red squirrel. But you don’t have to go to Potter’s Lake District to see these enchanting little animals. You can see them on Brownsea Island, the National Trust property in…
THE National Trust is running a series of supper and safari evenings on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour on Thursday evenings throughout June. The aim is to give people a closer view of nature in a truly beautiful and tranquil setting. The evenings begin with a boat ride over to the island from Sandbanks, followed…
HIGH ropes experts have installed cameras on the cliffs near the National Trust’s Dancing Ledge in Purbeck to monitor the last known nesting site for puffins on the mainland of southern England. It is hoped that the cameras will reveal why these iconic birds are on the verge of extinction. In the early 1900s, puffins…