Wildlife on Brownsea Island, Dorset - 10th October 2025

I visited Ham Common at Rockley Park on my way to the bus stop and saw a Stonechat on a fir tree

This ragged Red Admiral butterfly was resting on a post near the entrance to Brownsea Island

Lots of Spoonbills were standing towards the back of the lagoon

The two Peacocks that live on Brownsea were perching on a bench in the churchyard

One told me off for taking photographs!!

A Chiffchaff flew down from a tree and was perching on a fallen branch in the waterlily pond

View of Round Island from the edge of Brownsea

Avocet with leg bracelets wading across the lagoon in front of the aptly-named Avocet hide

I was lucky enough to see the female Kingfisher again - posing on two different wooden poles in front of the Avocet hide

I was unlucky with the Red Squirrels during this second visit to Brownsea Island and just managed to photograph this one hiding behind a clump of grass before I had to catch the last ferry back to Poole

I stopped to photograph a Sika deer in the churchyard while on my way back to get the homeward ferry

 

Birds, nature and wildlife at Rockley Park and Brownsea Island, near Poole, Dorset - 5th and 6th October 2025

I spent 4 nights at Rockley Holiday Park in early October and, while walking to my accommodation, I discovered a beautiful Peacock butterfly feeding on Mock Orange flowers

After I had unpacked, I walked to Rockley beach where a Little Egret was searching for food

There were lots of orange Pyracantha berries in the hedgerows

I then wandered up to the Ham Common Viewpoint where I could see many moored yachts and a distant Brownsea Island

Oystercatcher on the beach below the Ham Common Viewpoint

Another view of the moored yachts and distant Brownsea Island

The closest I am ever going to get to a White-tailed Eagle

The next morning I got the ferry from Poole Harbour over to Brownsea Island

A Peacock was displaying his very short tail feathers while standing in front of the church

A few of over seventy Spoonbills in Brownsea lagoon

Close view of an Avocet standing in front of the aptly named Avocet bird hide

Greenshank - also in front of the Avocet hide

I was lucky enough to be in the hide when a female Kingfisher flew over and perched on a pole

I then went into the woodland where a Red Squirrel was posing nicely on top of a tree trunk

Female Common Darter dragonfly resting in a patch of sunlight

Grey Wagtail on a fallen branch in the waterlily pond

Wren perching on a twig on the dark side of the woodland path

Greenfinch on a feeder on the light side of the woodland path

Female Pheasant blending in with the fallen autumn leaves

Back at the lagoon, a Black-tailed Godwit was standing in front of a small island

Female Shoveler duck on the left, Greenshank in the centre and Redshank on the right

Redshank with reflection

A went for a last look in the woodland before leaving the island and came across a Red Squirrel sitting on the ground

 I loved my day on Brownsea Island and was planning to return there for a second time later in the week

Wildlife, birds and nature on Brownsea Island during my second visit in mid-October 2024

Before I set off for Poole Quay, I wandered around Ham Common for a short while where I saw a couple of Reed Buntings on a twiggy shrub in the early morning sunshine 

The weather was very different from my earlier visit to Brownsea a couple of days before.  Now the sun was shining on this handsome male Pheasant that was searching for food amongst the fallen leaves

A damp Red Squirrel was finding and looking for chestnuts on the dew-covered grass

Wandering around near a bird hide at the edge of the lagoon was a Redshank

and an Avocet

A large group of Avocets were gathered together in a long line on the other side of the lagoon

When wandering through the woodland I came across this yellow fungi

and a whole heap of Honey Fungus, which had obviously killed the tree next to it

A Red Admiral butterfly was resting on the ground in the sunshine

Here is another type of fungus - I'm not a fungus expert so I don't know what it is

A beautiful Jay was perching on a tree branch in the woodland

Well-disguised Red Squirrels appeared in the woodland

A Nuthatch was sitting on top of a tree trunk

A Meadow Pipit was perching on the fence along the approach to the second bird hide at the edge of the lagoon

Kingfisher perching on a pole some distance away from the bird hide

Some of the many Spoonbills had left their little island and were standing in the water

When I was walking back to the quay on Brownsea Island, a female pheasant suddenly flew out of the castle grounds and landed high up on a tree at the edge of the footpath

The next morning I had to leave Rockley Park.  It was very foggy, but I did manage to get photographs of these lovely spider's webs in the hedge