Dorset Wildlife Trust

Who lives in a house like this? The first nest with green leaves is a dormouse nest - dormice are mainly arboreal in summer and go up the trees to find nest material. These are hazel leaves. The second nest of dried leaves is a wood mouse nest. They scamper round on the woodland floor collecting fallen leaves and often use dormouse boxes to make their homes. These were found on a licensed dormouse survey in north Dorset. ~ Cat

Could this be a sign that autumn is on the way? Every year the starlings start to gather about this time at our Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre and the crowds get bigger and bigger! ~ Cat (📷: Thanks to our Chesil Beach Centre Assistant, Vicky Ashby, for this lovely footage.)

We all know there’s a vast amount of plastic floating around in our seas and that problem is only getting worse with an estimated 8 million tons of plastic entering our oceans every year. Nearly half of all plastic produced today is destined to become a single-use item. Swapping from these single-use plastic items such as bags, bottles and takeaway cups to reusable alternatives can have a huge impact on our environment and the health of our seas – take a look at this video to see just how much! What plastic swaps have you made? ~ Sarah
https://www.facebook.com/bbctwo/videos/23 47600195255166/

Did you know August is a great time to spot Hummingbird Hawk Moth caterpillars? These amazing moths love nectar producing flowers like lilac and lavender. They do breed in the UK, but often do not survive cold winters, so the continued existence of these beautiful moths is due to an annual influx from the south of France, (where I filmed this one.) Have you seen one in your garden? ~ Cat

Look what we found washed up on the shore. Magic seaweed! Have you ever seen rainbow wrack (Cystoseira tamariscifolia) change colour? This brown seaweed shines a beautiful blue green irridescance when growing underwater but sadly this beauty can lead to its demise :-(. We discourage the picking of any seaweed, particularly this unique wonder. Why not have a look on the strandline. ~Em

Delighted to join the team for some bat survey work last week. The team used harp traps to try and discover more about the types of bats on the Greenhill Down nature reserve near Milborne St Andrew. A lure, playing bat calls, was placed close to the trap and the idea is that bats are attracted to it, go into the harp ‘strings’ and are collected in a bag below. The trap is monitored every 20 minutes to make sure the bats don’t spend a long time in there. Sadly, we didn’t find any in the traps, but we saw a lot of bats wheeling overhead and using a bat detector we heard a lot of different species, including a serotine bat. These are the UK’s second biggest bat and a great find for DWT. Thanks to the team for a wonderful evening! ~ Cat

There was no filter needed at our Kingcombe Centre on Thursday! After the rains in the morning, the sun came out and so did the pollinators. I was particularly delighted to capture this bee in the wildlife garden there. What have you seen in your garden recently? We'd love to see your pollinator photos! ~ Cat

We are very sorry to hear this news and are waiting to see what the impact may be. We would urge people not to swim there following the advice of the Environment Agency. ~ Cat

The unmistakable flight of a nightjar! These crepuscular creatures will soon be leaving Brownsea to head all the way to eastern Africa. An epic journey for an amazing bird. They seem to have had a successful breeding season on the island this year and we're making the most of their final weeks here to catch up with them! What do you most look forward to as summer heads towards Autumn? ~ Nicki

A female grey seal was recently spotted relaxing in the water at Portland Bill. This particular individual was added to our seal photo identification catalogue back in 2014 and has been seen every year since!
Have you spotted any seals along the Dorset coast? Please let us know – you can record your sighting online: http://seals.dorsetwildlifetrust.net/
If you encounter a seal, please make sure that you follow our seal watching code of conduct: www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/Seals ~ Sarah

How beautiful are these? We have had a lot of sightings recently of the elephant hawk moth caterpillars, with their characteristic pointed tails and eye spots, so we thought we'd show you what they turn into! Adults fly at night between May and June and their bright colours help them to attract suitors! In the day, they can rest without fear, as their pink and green bodies help them blend in with their bright pink favourite food plants - willowherbs and fuschias! Amazing! ~ Cat

A skeleton on the outside. The process of moulting a shell never fails to amaze. Crabs, lobsters and many other related species go through this necessary process, repeatedly throughout their lifecycle. The outgrown exoskeleton gets discarded and a soft crab is left to hide away from predation, until it’s shell offers protection once again. The difference in size after moulting is really noticeable - the new shell expands through the absorption of seawater. The photo shows a soft spider crab and its smaller empty shell, found in a crab pot by local fisher Tommy Russell. This one was returned. Have you ever found a discarded shell? If treated with care, it can be preserved. Now there’s a task for the kids this week! ~Em

In need of some #MondayMotivation? It's fantastic to see these young Ospreys have fledged - have you been watching them? ~ Cat

We're delighted to be working with Dorset County Council and Fancys Farm on this project to help naturally keep the grass down on Portland and promote habitat regeneration. 🐐❤️️ ~ Cat

Shore crabs are a common find in rock pools around the coast. If you’re looking for a fun family activity, head down to the shore at low tide and have a go at rock pooling to see what you can discover. You’ll find some handy identification guides on our website. Just make sure you check the tides first and always follow the seashore code ~ Sarah
www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/kimmeridge wildseas

Have you spotted a wonderful wasp spider? These striking arachnids are actually harmless, but they confuse predators by disguising themselves as wasps. They are in fact related to the common garden spider. Thanks to Elizabeth Mitchener who spotted this one at Badbury Rings. ~ Cat

Have you ever seen a sunfish? Tommy Russell did and he recently filmed this one 4.5 miles off Peverill Point, Swanage. This oceanic wanderer is in the search of jellyfish and no doubt he/she has had a bellyful! ~Em

We're really sad to report that 3 hectares of heathland on our Upton Heath nature reserve has been destroyed by fire. We don't know how it started, but we're asking everyone to remain vigilant and not take part in any activities which could start a fire during this hot, dry weather. We know that two nightjar chicks were ringed last week and would have been in the area of the fire, as well as the other wildlife that lives there. If you see a fire please phone 999 as soon as possible. Thank you to the 30 fire crews from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DW Fire) who helped stop the fire. Now to assess the damage and start work to help the site recover. ~ Sally

As August comes in, it's the last good chance to watch the beautiful leaf-cutter bee at work. On the wing from April to August, these bees feed solely on pollen and nectar. They create cells out of leaves in holes in plant stem, bricks and cliffs, placing an egg inside each cell. The young larvae hatch and develop, pupating in autumn and hibernating over winter. Have you seen any in your garden? ~ Cat

Seen the first swifts of the year ... more than a week later than last year!

Lovely walk at Kingcombe Meadows today. Hedgerows full of bluebells and fields with cowslips. This is what our countryside should be like, such diversity. What have we done elsewhere?

Impressively comprehensive talk on the Gillingham Royal Forest, at our recent Parish Council Meeting ... the villagers of Motcombe wholeheartedly support the activities of Dorset Wildlife Trust

I took my two children to the Wild Seas event at Kimmeridge bay on Sunday. If was our first trip to Kimmeridge and it was fantastic! The area is beautiful. The Marine centre is a hidden gem with lots of things for the children to see and do. The staff were all wonderful and incredibly interactive, pointing out what creatures were doing and helping my children with the crafts. We then booked onto the eco crabbing where a member of staff gave an informative talk to the children which was pitched perfectly for their age group. They took us to the rocks where the children caught crabs and were excited to show them to the staff who again were wonderful in giving attention to all the children. All in all a fantastic trip and a lovely event run by some brilliant staff! Thank you!

I grew up with Canford Heath as my play ground. And the wildlife on the heath was always a friend. I've respected all aspects and fondly remember all encounters. I always strived then as now to preserve what's naturally around us.

The Dorset Wildlife Trust has these same views at it's heart. And works hard to achieve this. And so I joined some 15 years a go and we have achieved so much in that time. With so much ahead the future for both us and wildlife is in a better place. And thanks to all who work and enjoy nature will be in a better place in the future too.

Great afternoon making jellyfish and learning about creatures of the deep sea. Thank you.

Dorset Wildlife Trust is an amazing organisation with amazing people!



I am a university student from the Netherlands and I have had the pleasure of doing my internship, which was 10 weeks, with the Dorset Wildlife Trust. The people from the organisation are very kind and made me feel right at home. The people here are very skilled and possess a lot of knowledge about nature and wildlife. I have had many opportunities to help out with different tasks and events, which I enjoyed very much and have learned a lot from as well. I have been shown a lot of gratitude for the things I have done, which makes it all worthwhile.



I have had an amazing, wonderful time here with the DWT. I will certainly miss the people here, but I will make sure to come back some day! :)

A great time out on Chesil Beach today for your Sea-shore scavenge. My five year old had a lovely time as did I!

Seen the first swifts of the year ... more than a week later than last year!

Lovely walk at Kingcombe Meadows today. Hedgerows full of bluebells and fields with cowslips. This is what our countryside should be like, such diversity. What have we done elsewhere?

Impressively comprehensive talk on the Gillingham Royal Forest, at our recent Parish Council Meeting ... the villagers of Motcombe wholeheartedly support the activities of Dorset Wildlife Trust

I took my two children to the Wild Seas event at Kimmeridge bay on Sunday. If was our first trip to Kimmeridge and it was fantastic! The area is beautiful. The Marine centre is a hidden gem with lots of things for the children to see and do. The staff were all wonderful and incredibly interactive, pointing out what creatures were doing and helping my children with the crafts. We then booked onto the eco crabbing where a member of staff gave an informative talk to the children which was pitched perfectly for their age group. They took us to the rocks where the children caught crabs and were excited to show them to the staff who again were wonderful in giving attention to all the children. All in all a fantastic trip and a lovely event run by some brilliant staff! Thank you!

I grew up with Canford Heath as my play ground. And the wildlife on the heath was always a friend. I've respected all aspects and fondly remember all encounters. I always strived then as now to preserve what's naturally around us.

The Dorset Wildlife Trust has these same views at it's heart. And works hard to achieve this. And so I joined some 15 years a go and we have achieved so much in that time. With so much ahead the future for both us and wildlife is in a better place. And thanks to all who work and enjoy nature will be in a better place in the future too.

Great afternoon making jellyfish and learning about creatures of the deep sea. Thank you.

Dorset Wildlife Trust is an amazing organisation with amazing people!



I am a university student from the Netherlands and I have had the pleasure of doing my internship, which was 10 weeks, with the Dorset Wildlife Trust. The people from the organisation are very kind and made me feel right at home. The people here are very skilled and possess a lot of knowledge about nature and wildlife. I have had many opportunities to help out with different tasks and events, which I enjoyed very much and have learned a lot from as well. I have been shown a lot of gratitude for the things I have done, which makes it all worthwhile.



I have had an amazing, wonderful time here with the DWT. I will certainly miss the people here, but I will make sure to come back some day! :)

A great time out on Chesil Beach today for your Sea-shore scavenge. My five year old had a lovely time as did I!