Winterwatch in Dorset; RSPB Arne

Rowan Fear, present at Arne for the programmes beginning, gives an impression of the Dorset nature reserve this winter.

The nocturnal grazing of sika deer, the guile of foxes under dark.

White-tailed eagles, Sparrowhawks and Peregrine Falcons that circle and watch, birds of prey known to have made Arne their hunting ground in years passed.

British wildlife, let be to exist as they should, yet broadcast to life for those at home.

Winterwatch, the BBC Two nature show, has returned to RSPB Arne.

Beyond the shores of Poole Harbour, the habitats found here are home to many.

To the north of the nature reserve, ancient oak woodland stands above vast heathland, a bed of regional flora. Salt marsh and mudflat meet the harbour at an ever-shifting tidal border.

Over the four nights the show will broadcast, Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams’ narration will tell of the life that inhabits Wintertime Arne.

Across the Arne Peninsula, long lens camera are positioned with the intent to witness life and activity otherwise unseen.
Raptors and hawks poised over carcasses, former prey.

Atop the harbour waters, Oystercatchers, with their persimmon beaks and Curlews, sepia feathered, drift and take flight.

Dartford Warblers, auburn chested and long tailed, a species with amber conservation status. At Arne they’re renowned, they bob amongst bushes and heath, unaware of their threatened state.

All wildlife that call the Dorset landscape home.

South of the site, over Purbeck hills and fields, Corfe Castle looms. Pine and Birch forest embellish the region, theatres of birdsong.

The area is a part of the UKs first Super National Nature Reserve, a network of reserves across the Purbeck Heaths.

It falls also within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covering 565 hectares of the Arne Peninsula.

Winterwatch provides optics into the natural world for a nation. Insight into whom we share our home with, their challenges and trials.

Take the moment to be amidst a lesser known Dorset world at RSP Arne.