Another month at Arne, and Spring is moving forward at a rapid pace. The sound of birdsong on the reserve reminds us that warmer times are ahead, especially the distinctive call of the chiffchaffs. The curly green fern shoots are unfurling, and the ...

This week we hear from former volunteer Amy about her experience volunteering at Arne, and why it is has such a special place in her heart. "I started volunteering at Arne in 2018 to give myself a regular break from the stresses of running my ow...

It's International Women's Day... so here is Staff member Laura writing about what International Women's Day means for her.

Being a women in the nature conservation sector does have its difficulties, and many women* don't feel safe or comfortable to enjoy the countryside alone.  I don't want to touch too much on this today, but have a read of this blog as it highlights many of these difficulties. https…

We’ve had a wonderful month at Arne so far. We are all starting to feel the beginnings of spring and the warmer weather on the way. There have been many amazing sightings recently, including regular sightings of white-tailed sea eagles across t...

It’s national nest box week this week (14^th to 21^st Feb) and the perfect time to think about adding some extra nest sites to your garden, house, garage or shed, ahead of the nesting season. 

If you know the birds that frequent your outside space, whether you have a flock of sparrows, see blue tits flitting about or regularly spot robins - providing a box for them will massively increase their chances of raising…

We’re all looking forward to the RSPB’s 44th Big Garden Bird Watch this weekend (27-29th January). But what is BGBW, and why is it so important to the RSPB? What is BGBW?   The RSPB describes BGBW as ‘the world’s biggest...

Discover the winter wildlife of a frosty RSPB Arne.

New RSPB Arne volunteer Annie shares the highs and lows of her first forays into birdwatching.

RSPB Arne is a fantastic nature reserve to visit all year - there's always something new to see, whether you're a keen birder or just enjoy immersing yourself in nature. Arne includes a variety of habitats from all important lowland heath, to woodland...

The mulled cider has been drunk, the Christmas wreaths have been made and the pines have been pulled… at least for this year!

Pull a Pine was over the weekend of the 3^rd and 4^th December and was a raging success.

This year, Pull a Pine was on our Hyde’s Heath. Hyde’s heath is the most recent patch of heathland we have bought, and therefore needs the most help to restore it. This former plantation was once heathland…

The biggest event in the RSPB Arne calendar is looming – Pull a Pine. As a volunteer at Arne, I’m giving an overview of why Pull a Pine is so important and a behind the scenes look at how we prepare for the big day as a reserve.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to live and work on an RSPB reserve? Our new residential volunteer Annie talks about her experience so far.

October 2022

Sightings

Back in September we reported 4 White trailed eagles around Poole harbour. For the October update I am very pleased to announce we have 5 spotted in the harbour.  Not least one from the new Rock Lea Viewpoint we spoke about last month. 

As the clocks went back yesterday and Autumn is well upon us, the reserve is alive with mushrooms and fungi.   Here are few of the beautiful specimens that have been…

Sightings

 At Arne, there's a bit of a raptor fest going on with ospreys, 4 white-tailed eagles, hobbies, marsh harriers, peregrine, goshawk, and buzzard all being seen around Poole harbour this month. 

In other exciting wildlife news, we have just got the results of some wildlife surveys which has revealed a new population of the incredibly rare Southern Damselfly. This is excellent news for the species population…

RSPB Arne's Big Wild Sleep Out BACK for 2022! After a two year hiatus, the opportunity to camp out under the stars was back at RSPB Arne for the summer of 2022-read our blog post to hear how it all went and what everyone got up to!

A series of monthly blogs by Midnight Sparkle, Inside Arne gives you exclusive insight into some of the work that is vital to help manage and maintain the RSPB’s wonderful Dorset reserves. Each month, this blog series will feature a different member of the team, be they staff or volunteer, sharing personal stories and behind-the-scenes knowledge.

 

Hyde’s Heath from a volunteer’s perspective: An interview with A…

A series of monthly blogs, Inside Arne gives you exclusive insight into some of the work that is vital to help manage and maintain the RSPB’s wonderful Dorset reserves.

A series of monthly blogs, Inside Arne gives you exclusive insight into some of the work that is vital to help manage and maintain the RSPB’s wonderful Dorset reserves.

With it being #NationalVolunteersWeek we thought we would catch up with one of ours to see what it's like to be part of the team here at RSPB Arne. We chatted to Samuel, one of our Visitor Experience team members, about his time as a residential volunteer and now a working-from-home volunteer as well as some of his favourite moments at RSPB Arne...

Quick introductions, tell us about yourself and how long you’ve been…

OUR BLOGS ARE BACK! Whilst searching through the depths of our website we stumbled across blog posts from way back in 2017 and we thought that it was about time that we updated some things!

 

So here we are, mid-March 2020, spring is here and we have the sightings to prove it! Chiffchaffs have been calling, brimstone and peacock butterflies have been seen fluttering, Dartford warblers have been nest building (great photo…

 

Spoonbills by Simon Kidner

Shipstall trails

• 6x Spoonbill
• Greenshank
• Redshank
• Curlew
• 30x Little Egret
• Green woodpecker
• Great Spotted Woodpecker
• Wheatear
• Kingfisher
• Sandwich tern
• 50x Cormorant

 

Coombe trails

• Meadow pipit
• c500 Black-tailed Godwit
• 2x Marsh Harrier
• 4x Willow warbler
• Little Egret
• Greenshank
• Shellduck
• c100 Redshank
• Buzzard
• Osprey
• 2x Hobby
• 27x Spoonbill
• Peregrine fa…

For the most up to date information on recent sightings from RSPB Arne nature reserve follow our twitter feed at https://twitter.com/rspbarne .

News covers all the latest sightings, visitors photographs, events plus other local wildlife information from nearby reserves such as RSPB Lytchett Fields and other parts of Poole Harbour. Please feel free to tweet your sightings to us so that we can spread the word plus we love…

Did you see the film on last night's #Winterwatch about the elusive cranes?! Well our very own Damon Bridge was their guide on the day and here's his brilliant blog about the experience... 5.30am, January 10 th , and a long steady wade on a...

Last night saw the final #Winterwatch broadcast live all week from our fog-swathed RSPB Arne. RSPB's Jamie Wyver shares the Top Ten Wild Facts he learnt from episode four - so for the last time...Lights, Camera, Action! The fog which had been...

Carla Taylor is a fibre artist situated in the heart of the Dorset countryside who creates contemporary sustainable wool sculptures inspired by the animals and landscape of the British countryside and coastline using the technique of needle felting, where...