In early April, our barn owl webcam viewers were rewarded with the sight of four eggs in the nesting box at Lorton Meadows, in full colour thanks to the new upgraded webcam installed at the beginning of the season. The owlets entertained everyone throughout the spring and early summer with their intriguing preening and eating behaviours accompanied by their characteristic chitttering, screeching and hissing. All four owlets successfully fledged in the early summer which is quite an achievement for the parents.

The owlets may have fully fledged, but if you're lucky you can occasionally catch a glimpse of the parents taking shelter in the nesting box.

A highlight of our summer was the news of the first beaver kits born in Dorset for over 400 years when the trail cameras at our enclosed beaver site in West Dorset caught two kits on camera. Rivers Conservation Officer, Steve Oliver said, "We have been hoping that the pair might breed since we saw their industrious dam building activity earlier over the winter and spring - it was clear that they were working together and had quickly settled into their new home. Seeing the first kit is an incredibly exciting moment for the project and an enormous step forward on the journey to restore beavers to Dorset. Beavers have the potential to make a huge difference to our natural environment and with the right balance of protection and management, their work can assist nature's recovery and help to prevent flooding in towns and villages downstream." 

Since the summer, the two Dorset beaver kits have grown from strength to strength, as seen in the footage below. The adult beavers have been busy caching their favourite food, willow branches, ready to feast on over winter as they become less active in their lodge. But it's not only the adults preparing for the harsh months ahead, as the hidden trail cam footage shows, the kits have started to participate too! 

September marked the end of the first year of the community rewilding project at Wild Woodbury and surveys recorded an incredible uplift in the biodiversity and abundance of species moving onto the 170-hectare site. Letting nature take the lead has produced some remarkable results. Staff and volunteers recorded over 1,300 species and eight Red List birds of conservation concern were confirmed to be breeding at Wild Woodbury, including the skylark, yellowhammer and tree pipit. 

In October, work started on filling in ditches and field drains to allow the River Sherford to occupy a more natural course across the land. The aim of this restoration project is to reinstate a wetter habitat for wildlife, to reduce nutrient load carried into Poole Harbour and the risk of flooding by slowing the flow of water across the land and sequester carbon in the process. Thanks to a few heavy downpours, Wild Woodbury has started to transform once again. Several fields have evolved from a dry, cracked landscape into a mixture of standing and flowing water, marshy land, pools, and delta-esque areas. The filled ditches have forced water back onto the land and we've let it find its natural pathway through the site, creating these habitats in the process.

The return of water into the landscape at Wild Woodbury will have a massive impact on the species on site. During the surveys this year, many species that needed water to survive and breed were absent. But already, diving beetles have started to colonize the standing water, and a green sandpiper has been visiting the pools. The change over the next year is going to be immense, so keep an eye out for more developments. 

And it's not just the wildlife that has been busy at Wild Woodbury. In November, pupils from Bere Regis Primary School descended on site to collect acorns in what was the beginning of the ambitious 800-year living Oak Henge Project.

A new initiative launched this year was the Dorset Peat Partnership led by Dorset Wildlife Trust to develop plans to restore the county's vitally important mire habitats which are in poor condition. Thanks to funding from Natural England, the project will assess the condition of peat in heaths across Dorset and identify areas for restoration work. Grace, the Dorset Peat Partnership Project Manager, spent a busy summer surveying and engaging with members of the public to raise the profile of peat in Dorset.

From a marine wildlife perspective, our volunteers have been carrying out some interesting surveys this year, including monitoring the increase of furrowed crab at Kimmeridge. This native species seems to be a winner in the climate crisis and has been increasing its population and extending its territory in the southwest of England in recent years. Volunteers are monitoring the effect this might have on established crab species. We have also set up a team to survey the extraordinary bed of snakelocks anemones and coral weed in Kimmeridge Bay which we think might be unique in its size and structure.

In East Dorset, the Urban Green project celebrated the success of two communities who came together to improve their local green spaces with our support and funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. Volunteers at St Peter's Church in Bournemouth town centre worked hard to clear undergrowth, create paths, plant wildlife-friendly flowers and shrubs and create wildlife trails to transform the churchyard into a tranquil place for everyone to enjoy. Their project made such an impact that it was shortlisted in the National Church Awards. Over in Hamworthy, local residents rose to the challenge of creating a community woodland in the grounds of St Michael's Church which as well as providing a wonderful green space for local people to connect with nature, is also being used by community groups for events and activities.

The outstanding success of the Urban Green project, as beautifully captured by storyteller Sam Crosby in the video below, will be continued with the Nextdoor Nature programme. This initiative will empower and support communities to improve their local greenspaces and has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.