30th May 2026 – RSPB Arne, Dorset

Tree pipit

We have just arrived on holiday on the south coast of England, in the county of Dorset. The area we are staying is known as the Isle of Purbeck on the Jurassic Coast. Despite its name, it is not actually an island—it is a peninsula bordered by the English Channel, Poole Harbour, and the River Frome.

Today we visited the RSPB nature reserve at Arne. Arne is situated on Poole Harbour and within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The landscape of heathlands, ancient oak woodlands,  wetlands and mudflats is truly stunning and teeming with wildlife.

When I visit such nature reserves I can’t help thinking about the thousands of hours that volunteers have dedicated to making them such phenomenal places to visit. On our visit today we met a number of such people who helped us by telling us about osprey and white-tailed eagle projects and even helped us to spot both of these birds.

Some of the photos of our first day in this area showing the variety of wildlife:

The ruins of Corfe Castle, close to Arne

Tree pipit on the heathland

Heather on the heathland

European herring gull catching a crab

Emperor dragonfly

Four-spot chaser

Cinnabar moth

Foxgloves between heathland and wood

Red admiral butterfly

Painted lady butterfly

Underside of painted lady butterfly

Rhododendron, very attractive but quite invasive
Oystercatchers on the mudflats

Little egret flying over the estuary

Black-headed gull

Shelduck
Grey squirrel in woodland

Sikka deer in the woodland

Common buzzard

Osprey on nest

White-tailed eagle being mobbed by another (smaller) bird

Outdoor entertainment – a poetry and song event on a Jurassic theme at our local pub, The Square and Compass, at Worth Matravers.
A great way to start our holiday – the local beers and ciders were good too.

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