Last week I went on holiday to Dorset. This area is one that I have not explored since my interest in wildlife started so I knew there would be lots of opportunities for wildlife encounters.
We arrived at the house where we would be staying and this lovely dragonfly appeared on the washing line, surely a omen of good things to come.
Dragonfly
We were staying just down the road from the RSPB Arne reserve, this gave me an opportunity to see Sika deer close up, maybe too close.
Sika Deer
The site is also very good for raft spiders, we managed to find 12 of them in one pond!
Raft Spider
We also went to the Dorset Wildlife Trust reserve on Brownsea Island, this is somewhere I hadn’t explored before (a big mistake), the reserve was teeming with waders with hundreds of Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank, Greenshank, some Dunlin, Oystercatchers, a Common Sandpiper, shelduck and 3 Spoonbill. What an amazing array of birds in one place
Greenshank
Dunlin
Shelduck
Common Sandpiper
Redshank
Of course Brownsea Island is also a important habitat for these charming Red Squirrels
We also went to Studland Bay, this site is great for reptiles, a huge thank to Steve Davis (@spuddrs) for inviing me to his reptile course where I learnt a lot about the native UK reptiles
Sand Lizard
Sand Lizard
Common Lizard
Common Lizard
It is also a good site for damselflies and dragonflies
It also has a variety of other insects there:
Wall Brown
Giant tachinid fly
Common Blue
Dorset also has some stunning scenery, I especially liked the colour of the heathlands
Here are some more photos from my trip:
Swallow
On the last evening of the holiday I went on a boat trip with the Dorset Wildlife Trust where I saw my first Fulmar and Sandwich Tern and had a different view of the scenery
The evening ended by watching the Bornemouth firework display from the boat, a perfect end to the holiday