Dorset is always a beautiful place to visit, particularly the Wareham area and during summer time the area is hugely popular with ramblers. Holidaymakers in the area this week were in for a real treat, especially those who like bird watching as rare hawk was spotted there over the Bank Holiday weekend and it’s the first time for twenty years!
According to the Bournemouth Echo, the rare Red Footed Falcon was spotted in Dorset over the weekend. The creature is usually found over Eastern Europe and Asia, wintering in Africa but last weekend twitchers got to see it over Wareham!
Experts say the bird is a young female and bird watchers have been ‘flocking’ to the area to catch a glimpse. Those who have seen it say that it has pellet holes in its left wing and that could be the reason the creature has flown off course and over UK shores.
Dorset is the perfect destination for both walkers and twitchers, with forests and coastal walks you never know what you’ll see along the way! Rabbit and badgers are prevalent in the area and you’re unlikely to get anywhere without seeing the hop and skip of the wild bunnies living in the area, but the forests are also teeming with deer. Look up and even if you don’t spot something as rare as a red footed falcon, it’s still likely you’ll spot several hawks and raptors who comb the area looking for smaller rodents for a tasty meal.
Head towards the coast to see a huge amount of wading and sea birds as the coastline makes the perfect nature reserve for the animals, and if you’re lucky you might catch a bit of past nature too as the area is teeming with fossils, it’s not called the Jurassic Coast for nothing!
By: Kath Cross
