Wildlife in our Parish

There is an exceptionally varied range of habitats in the area, some contained within several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCIs), which support many rare species of wildlife. With care, the Hobby, Nightjar, Skylark and Wood Warbler can all be found without wandering off the footpath. Crayfish are a feature of chalk streams such as the Piddle. Occasionally an Otter can be glimpsed, though Kingfisher and Trout are much more likely to be spotted.

Wildlife Newsletter

From a questionnaire that was sent to all parishioners as part of the preparation for the 2004 Parish Plan, the Wildlife Newsletter was born. It began as a paper edition, hand delivered to homes in the parish. In 2013 it went digital, over 500 editions were produced and its readership extends far beyond the parish to many corners of the World. The last edition was published in December 2024. We have added an archive of recent years for you look back over.

As of Autumn 2025, a new quarterly Newsletter is being produced as a successor to the original edition. Read or download the latest news right here:

Parish Wildlife Newsletter archive

This is a fascinating look back at the the observations made over recent years. Select the year to view the newsletters in a browser. Click download if you wish to save the pdf. Please note some of the files are very large.

Roger Hewitt’s Wildlife Observations – 2024/2025

In November 2024 we had lots of Starlings making their way west to east through our meadows at dusk, some would land in the dead tree for a while before continuing east to roost else where. It was the most I have ever seen in the parish. Mid November also saw an  large movement of around 100 Mandarins turning up on the fishing lake, they all flew in from the east and i have never witnessed this before. Contacted the DORSET BIRD CLUB and they said its the biggest movement they had heard of. We had big numbers for a few days but they slowly drifted of east again and numbers returned normal, we always have some around the river. Moving into December a few Crossbills turned up a Marsh Harrier seen on the edge of Oakers Wood and a Siberian  Chiffchaff was reported and a Woodcock was reported by the river in Sue Taylors garden. A Firecrest was along Gully Lane while in Briantspuddle Meadow  4 Common Redpoll were feeding on dock seeds and with the water levels rising more Common Snipe moved in and a Goosander was a surprise  near the footbridge. by the end of December Throop meadows was getting busy with 17 Swans lots of Gulls the pintail was back with a few Wigeon and of course lots of Greylag and Canada Geese 6 Egyptian Geese and a Green Sandpiper.

2025 started well with another sighting of the Marsh Harrier  flying east to west through the meadows, still a lot of rain and levels quite high now, but 6 Cattle Egrets just west of Affpuddle  was good as was the good numbers of Redwings but not so many Fieldfare. The sighting of Barnacle Geese flying west through the meadows was only the second ever sighting in the parish. A few days later 33 Lapwings and 3 Skylarks at Turnerspuddle was nice with 3 Shovelers in Throop meadow. My first Woodlark for the new year was on 21January on 31st a Great White Egret flew east through the meadows, and always nice to see the Barn Owl has come through the winter. A walk towards Oakers Wood and heard GREEN WOODPECKER they seem to be getting harder to find every year now, also had Marsh Tits and Goshawk. Mid March now and the first of the summer migrants starting to come in and start singing were Chiffchaffs Blackcaps and a few Sand Martins a CUCKOO was heard on 4th April. And to finish for now the Egyptian Geese bred on THROOP MEADOW and had 6 little goslings the last time I saw them.

Roger Hewitt’s slide show

Photographs included on this page and in the Butterfly, Dragonfly and Bird Lists below by kind permission of Roger Hewitt and Ian Cross.

Butterflies

Use the detailed list of observations in the list below to spot all the butterflies that have been seen so far in the parish:

Dragonflies

Use the detailed list of observations in the list below to spot all the dragonflies that have been seen so far in the parish:

Birds

This list below has been produced by several people with a keen interest in bird life within the parish for the benefit of anyone who would like to know what the range of species is in the surrounding area.

Please feel free to download a copy of the bird list and if you see anything that is not included, and should be from an actual sighting, let us know using the Contact form Observations and other wildlife information can be passed on to our local team.