Poole Harbour
Poole Harbour is a pituresque natural harbour, and attracts many visitors and birds. In the summer, common terns and Mediterranean gulls breed here. In the winter, the mudflats and saltmarsh provide feeding and resting places for up to 30,000 wading birds, ducks and geese. This includes the second largest wintering population of avocets. The harbour\\\'s natural areas are so important for wildlife that they are protected under European law (the Natura 2000 network) and under international law under the Ramsar convention
From the bitterns\' point of view, Poole Harbour offers a huge banqueting area with England\'s largest reedbed. They can be seen occasionally around the harbour in winter, but as most of the reedbeds are tidal none have nested yet. It is very unusual for bitterns to nest in tidal reedbeds in the UK.
However, in recent years, a number of people have heard booming males around the harbour - the first sign that bitterns are thinking of breeding in an area. On the Humber estuary, bitterns nest in small freshwater reedbeds (some as small as two football pitches) and feed on the tidal habitats nearby. Thanks to work by organisations, including the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency, bitterns regularly breed along the estuary.
The RSPB owns and manages large areas of heathland, tidal reedbed and shoreline at Poole Harbour. There are also small patches of freshwater reedbed, which gives us the opportunity to follow the successs of the Humber. We have restored an existing area of reedbed at Arne reserve as a potential nesting site by repairing banks and sluices to hold more water. Additional pools have also been dug in nearby tidal reedbeds to provide more feeding areas for bitterns.
For more information about Poole Harbour contact the RSPB Arne nature reserve on 01929 553360 or visit the reserve section of the RSPB website
