Autumn Dorset getaway

 Lulworth Cove 

Durdle Door

Spoonbill galore

RSPB Arne Cafe

Arne

Arne

Poole Harbour

Avoid the memberships sales 

Fly Agaric ?

Oystercatcher

Ring-necked Parakeet

Just a short blog to round up a terrific autumn break, ending with two fantastic days in Dorset. We hadn't explored this area before and we were not disappointed. The weather was very kind and it felt like mid August rather than October. 

Durdle Door & Lulworth Cove was our first port of call. Durdle Door is a limestone arch that is part of the amazing jurassic coastline. Bird wise we were restricted in Skylarks, Stonechats and plenty of Rooks after scraps on the car park.

We then made the 25 minute journey to RSPB Arne, host of BBC's Winterwatch. The car park was full and it took a while to realise that Arne was more than just a nature reserve. There were families, couples & a few birders on the reserve enjoying the fantastic habitat. 

The reserve overlooked Poole Harbour where we got great views of 25+ Spoonbill, 5 Swallows, Sandwich Terns, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Wigeon & a single Spotted Redshank. Of the 25 Spoonbills we observed a Poole Harbour record was declared at 75 birds ( 40 at Arne & 35 at Brownsea Island)

We did use the cafe which I can recommend. Both our meals were excellent and served in good time despite the staff being run off their feet.

After an evening of over indulgence we headed into the New Forest for a couple of hours ride on mixed terrain, only notable sighting was a couple of Redwing passing over.