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An island set in a brown sea ... | Peter Orchard

on October 17, 2013

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An island set in a brown sea ... | Peter Orchard

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The Red Kite in Dorset

When I started out 'birding' back in the 1970s I was told we have resident species of birds (robins, blackbirds, etc) and migrant bird species; those that visit for the summer (swallow, house martin, etc) and those that visit for the winter (dunlin, brent goose, etc). Now I am a bit wiser! Birds need to eat and birds have wings and so birds can move to find food in bad weather; obvious isn't it? The red kite (Milvus milvus) could be considered a 'resident' species as it is seen in Britain all year round but, like many other birds, when the going gets tough the red kite gets going; when the snow comes the red kite goes because it has to to survive. In Dorset the red kite is certainly a vagrant species even though it is seen regularly but as far as I am aware, although they could well be breeding in the north of the county, they could not be considered resident. The weekly reports show that you can encounter a red kite at virtually any time of the year in Dorset. What

Brands Bay: Poole Harbour

Brands Bay: Poole Harbour , a photo by Peter Orchard on Flickr. Much of the Purbeck shore line of Poole Harbour is sadly not openly accessible to the public but in the south eastern corner there is National Trust land that gives access to a part of it known as Brands Bay. At low tide this gives good views across the mud flats of the harbour and is a good spot for waders and wildfowl in general however, it seems that every time I go there the tide is in so my species list is not that good (yet). You can access Brands Bay from anywhere along the Studland Road near the Sandbanks Ferry. It lies to the west of the road of course and you can park along the roadside (although it is pretty busy in summer) and there are various paths across the heath to the shoreline. There are no footpaths as such but it is open access land and there are well worn paths you can follow although it can be rough going in places and becomes quite wet in winter. On a clear day the views across the harbour are love

Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)

Dandelion-type flowers can be a real trial for even the experienced botanist on occasions so what chance have we amateurs got? Well, with a little thought, we have a chance with some and this one, nipplewort, is a good start. Nipplewort is a fairly tall plant growing to a metre or more tall and so it cannot be a dandelion. The plant has multiple flowers on shorter branches emanating from a central stem so it cannot be a dandelion. The leaves are not toothed they are fragmented and they do not form a basal rosette but grow out from the central stem so it cannot be a dandelion. The flowers themselves are quite small and simple whereas a dandelion has bold, complex flowers. Nipplewort is a common plant of shady hedgerows and woodland whereas dandelions are found in the open in grassy areas. Hopefully you are getting the idea! Nipplewort is part of a 'subset' of the dandelion family known as hawkbits and, with experience and using the various features of the flower it is possible t

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Peter Orchard - Nature of Dorset

An island set in a brown sea ... | Peter Orchard

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