Natural England

“It may only be the first week in March but some of our summer visitors are already arriving on the coast around Dorset. It is possible that the first few have already arrived at the end of February”, said Natural England’s bird specialist James Phillips

The first harbinger of spring around Portland and Poole Harbour is the sandwich tern. A clean white and pale grey gull-like bird with a black cap. They winter off the coasts of West Africa and return through March to breed around the coasts of Britain. Great views can be had of this species on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, where they breed in good numbers during the summer months, this is their only breeding location in south west England. Wheatears, smart starling sized birds with a bright white rump feed up around the coast before moving inland to their breeding grounds.

Swallows may indicate the arrival of summer for many people but the first members of this family to arrive are usually the sand martins. Small brown and white relations of the swallow with a shallowly forked tail they dig burrows in sandy cliffs and river banks. They are communal breeders and in good years colonies may number several hundred birds. In Dorset they can be seen around Hengistbury Head, Radipole Lake and Lodmoor in Weymouth.

Throughout the county the smart blackcap will soon be returning to scrubland where you can often see it clearly silhouetted as it sings before the leaves come out. At this time of year there is a cross-over as our winter visitors, such as the redwing and fieldfare, members of the thrush family, leave our coasts to travel to their breeding grounds while summer visitors arrive to breed.

As our winters become milder some of our summer visitors will have stayed on through the winter in the southwest. For instance, the chiff-chaff, named after its call, can be found in gardens and around scrubland during the winter months. Its migratory cousins come home to breed at this time of year swelling their numbers and making it easier to hear them during a walk in the wood.

Another bird considered to be a herald of the Spring is the cuckoo. However, you will be lucky to see or hear a cuckoo before the middle of April and most arrive nearer the end.

Notes for Editor:

1. Natural England has responsibility for 964 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Southwest. Nearly a third of these sites have birds as a special notified feature, while many of the others will be managed in ways that take account of or maintain habitats for birds. Some sites like Poole Harbour in Dorset are managed for both breeding and non-breeding birds. Others may focus their management on only one rare bird among the variety of wildlife on a site.
2. To see some of our first summer migrants when they arrive coastal sites are often the best. The National Nature Reserves at Dawlish Warren and Berry Head, near Brixham can be excellent in the right weather conditions as can coastal SSSIs at Prawle Point in South Devon and our most southerly headland, the Lizard in Cornwall.
3. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. To find out more visit www.naturalengland.org.uk.
4. For more information please contact Dot Isgrove on 07880 784757 or James Phillips on 07786 661864