My First post

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. 

I will bring you up to date wildlife and bird sightings to this blog from all my birding experiences out in the field across the UK and abroad.

Hope you enjoy. Here are a few recent images from couple of outings around Dorset over the last few weeks.

Raft Spider at Arne RSPB

Day trip to Arne RSPB reserve:

A short drive down to Arne RSPB reserve in search of the Raft Spider ( Dolomedes fimbrata) left me not in vain when after a short walk around I finally found several on a small pond. These amazing arthropods are very rare in the UK and restricted to only a few locations. There are tow species found in the Uk, the other is the Norfolk raft Spider. Raft Spider can be found around acidic bogs, heathland especially where there are small pools with floating vegetation.
The amazing thing about Raft Spiders is their ability float on top of the water creating small rings of air around their legs, keeping them buoyant.
Arne is a great place to see Raft Spiders in Dorset, they are most certainly an amazing invertebrate to get up and close with and watch them hunt dragonflies, small fish, tadpoles etc on the ponds.

A few days ago I took part in the Big Garden Bird Watch for the RSPB. Over 20 species recorded in the garden this year including Green Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tit, Sparrowhawk and this stunning Nuthatch.

Nuthatch in the garden

I will be keeping regular updates on my new blog and recent sightings around the Somerset and Dorset regions. Happy Birding