Emma Rance, Marine Conservation Officer for Dorset Wildlife Trust, tells us why Holes Bay Nature Park is a top spot for wintering birds in Poole Harbour You’d be forgiven for overlooking Holes Bay saltmarsh and mud flats as you travel upon Poole’s...

Barn Owls are one of the many wildlife stars of BBC Winterwatch, and close neighbors in the BBC studio at RSPB Arne Nature reserve. The RSPB’s Tony Whitehead share’s a few secrets about these well known birds … Seeing a barn owl...

RSPB's Martin Fowlie, gives us the low-down on last night's jam packed Winterwatch at RSPB Arne... Today was the day the fog finally lifted…. but only after lunch. We had another morning of frost, cold temperatures and minimal visibility...

RSPB’s Chris Dieck reveals just how many different species rely on RSPB Arne's heathland habitats as their home ... RSPB Arne covers around 550 hectares, this represents almost 1% of lowland heath in England. It is thought that we have lost...

Lin Baldock, Dorset Seasearch Coordinator working with Dorset Wildlife Trust, reveals the incredible, wormy forests that exist just below Poole Harbours waves... Below the placid surface of some of the sheltered channels of Poole Harbour and especially...

RSPB's Martin Fowlie visits Arne for the very first time this week. Here he shares what he's discovered about the nature reserve from last night's second #Winterwatch... Another cold and foggy day at RSPB Arne today. We haven’t seen...

Zoё McMinn, Heathland Mitigation and Grazing Warden for the Borough of Poole, reveals Canford Heath's VIP Visitor! Across the Poole harbour from wildlife-rich RSPB Arne, Canford Heath silently stands watch. Whilst its swathes of reptiles hibernate...

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud! By RSPB’s Tony Whitehead Poole Harbour is one of the best birdwatching estuaries in the UK, and currently featured on BBC Winterwatch. But what makes it such a special place, and why are there so many birds here in winter...

RSPB Arne’s Dartford Warblers by Chris Baker, RSPB It is a truth universally acknowledged that a bird with a liking for gorse must be in want of a folk name beginning with furze. Dartford warbler (1) by Terry Bagley Stonechats and whinchats...

RSPB's Katie Phoenix is at RSPB Arne this week, bringing us the special #Winterwatch magic! Here's her low-down of last night's first show... Last night saw the return of the highly anticipated Winterwatch 2017 with Chris, Michaela and...

Charlotte Rose, Natural England Team Leader for Dorset, shares with us the exciting Urban Heaths Partnership Project, which Natural England are part of. Negotiations between Natural England (NE) and partners began in 2006/2007 to look at how the new...

Rachel Lamb, National Trust Visitor Services and Enterprises Assistant, tells us about Brownsea Island Lagoon and the Impact of Climate Change and Sea Level Rises there. Brownsea Island Lagoon is a quiet, undisturbed haven, yet within a short distance...

Winter Water birds at RSPB Arne by Chris Baker, RSPB Wanna cry, wanna croon / Wanna laugh like a loon When songwriter Yip Harburg wanted a lyric that was bewitching, eerie and freighted with topsy-turvy emotions he turned to the loon. His song...

Tomorrow evening, BBC TWO, 8pm, the BBC return to RSPB Arne - this time to broadcast Winterwatch live from our stunning Dorset reserve. RSPB Arne is one of the most wildlife rich reserves in the UK and it proved a big hit with Autumnwatch viewers (hopefully...

While the spotlight of the nation has left Arne for the time being, the wildlife here certainly has not. It's increased!

The coming of winter not only brings a chill to the air but thousands of birds too with Poole Harbour playing host to the largest wintering flock of avocet in the country, brent geese, various grebe's, divers and ducks and even birds of prey such as hen harrier and merlin. All these can and have…

 

RSPB Arne is a special place. The landscape is as wild as it is beautiful and the wildlife as abundant as it is extraordinary. For these reasons alone it’s the perfect place to inspire and engage the nation with wildlife, but when coupled with the fact that Arne is one of the most bio-diverse sites in the UK you realise there’s truly no better place for the public to experience the glory of autumn on the natural…

Happy Halloween Folks - here's something suitably slimey from RSPB Arne! by Tony Whitehead, RSPB "Can you write us a quick blog on slime mould Tony?" "Of course" I replied, whilst wondering a) why ask me, do I look like the...

Water Voles Thriving at RSPB Arne by Morwenna Alldis, RSPB “There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats,” said Ratty, one of the most beloved characters of Kenneth Grahame’s 1908...

Give Larry the Woodlouse a Home this Autumn by Morwenna Alldis Typically as autumn beds in we start to do a little tidying around our gardens, pruning and removing any dead wood to encourage new growth in the spring. But this autumn, don’t discard...

My Internship with RSPB Dorset by Andrew Thompson RSPB Dorset's Intern, Andrew Thompson, talks about developing his passion for conservation and education... Throughout my internship with the RSPB in Dorset I’ve been encouraged to participate...

Natural England's Sunnyside Farm by Sarah Warrener of Natural England. All photos by Tim Brodie James Over 150 square miles of Dorset was covered in heathland 250 years ago. Over the years this has been converted to agriculture or built upon...

Today's celebrity creature is described as a 'Miracle of Nature' by RSPB's Luke Phillips ... Meet RSPB Arne's resident firecrests... Firecrests could be described as one of those miracles of nature. They share the accolade of Europe’s...

Give a Bat a Home in Dorset this Halloween by Morwenna Alldis As you know from our previous blog, twelve of the UK’s 17 breeding bat species are found at Arne: barbastelle, Bechstein’s, Brandt’s, brown long-eared, common pipistrelle...

Sow Seeds for Nature this Autumn by Morwenna Alldis Turning a small corner of your garden, or even a large plant pot or window box, into a mini poppy field will provide food for the birds and the bees, as well as shelter and cover for other garden...

Upton Country Park SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace) Borough of Poole is growing and has to accommodate 10,000 new homes between 2006 and 2026. We all need outdoor space for health and wellbeing and therefore there is a national requirement...