16 Aug 2015

16 Aug 15 - Why Do I Live In Dorset

I moved to Dorset in Summer 1996 for the Birding. Initially the move was to allow me to spend more time Birding the Dorset coastline around Winspit & St Aldhelms Head. After a few seasons, I switched to Durlston for a few seasons. The last decade has seen me settle on Studland/Ballard Down as the main patch, with the Southern side of Poole Harbour providing some alternative Birding venues. Even on the dull days, then the patch can provide stunning scenery.
Studland & Poole Harbour from Ballard Down: Studland village is in the foreground, with the Studland peninsula heading off to the right with Sandbanks in the far right
The Studland peninsula: The foreground is the Glebelands estate with part of the Studland village at the back. The lake in the Studland peninsula is Littlesea. Behind the Studland peninsula is Brands Bay with the Goathorn peninsula enclosing Brands Bay. The urban conubation at the very back is Poole
Poole Harbour mouth: With Sandbanks on the far side of the harbour & the Eastern end of Brownsea to the left
Studland Bay: With Old Harry at the right foreground & Bournemouth in the far distance. The Poole Harbour patch continues along the shoreline to Branksome Chine
Poole Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world (behind Sydney Harbour). So far I've seen 260 species within the area covered by these photos. All but two of these, Bean Goose & Lapland Bunting, have been seen since I moved to Dorset. There are a handful of species that probably occur within the Poole Harbour boundaries occasionally, that I have still to connect with: Sooty Shearwater, Stone-curlew, Long-tailed Skua, Serin & Snow Bunting. There are still another fifty-five or so species on the Poole Harbour List that I have still to see. So plenty of reason to keep Birding the area.