Brownsea Island with its commanding position in Poole Harbour has ties with man stretching back to the 5th-century BC.
The 500 acre island has survived conflict old and modern, from pillaging by the Vikings to bombing by the Nazis. Its use by man has varied from defence of the realm to site of Baden-Powell's first scout camp.
The National Trust acquired Brownsea Island in 1963 as the result of a nationwide campaign. Under our careful management, today it is a tranquil wildlife haven.
Brownsea is best known as one of the few remaining sites in England for the rare red squirrel. Their pinewood home is only one of a wide range of habitats that support the island's rich diversity of wildlife.
What to look for on Brownsea Island
Brownsea Island is accessible by a short ferry journey across Poole Harbour. We share the management of the island with the Dorset Wildlife Trust, John Lewis Partnership and others.
The northern half of the island, including the lagoon, is leased to the Dorset Wildlife Trust. It can be visited by a self-guided nature trail or guided tours depending on the time of year. The lagoon can be viewed at any time from a public hide.
Red squirrels
Without the threat of the invasive grey squirrel, Brownsea's rare red squirrel population flourishes. They can be found in all the wooded areas of the island.
The squirrels are most active in spring and autumn around sunrise and sunset but can be spotted with a little detective work at all times of the year (look out for partly-eaten pine cones).
© Vikki Gridley-Haack
The lagoon
The non-tidal brackish lagoon is a habitat of national and international importance for a variety of birds. They use the site for nesting, feeding and roosting throughout the year.
Look out for:
- large numbers of waders including avocets, black- and bar-tailed godwits, grey plovers, dunlins, redshanks and greenshanks in the winter
- sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons hunting across the lagoon in winter
- kingfishers
- common and Sandwich terns, breeding from May to July
- oystercatchers
- shelducks
- grey herons and little egrets from the Brownsea heronry roosting and feeding on the lagoon
© Kevin Cook
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The seashore
You can often see a wide range of seashore wildlife and plants on the sandy and pebbly beach around Brownsea.
Look out for:
- oystercatchers
- waders such as curlews, sandpipers, redshanks and turnstones in the winter
- willow warblers in woods along the shore in the summer
- red-breasted mergansers, goldeneyes, common scoters, eiders, great-crested and Slavonian grebes and divers arriving from Northern Europe in the winter
- migrating birds including wheatears and redstarts
- shells, and evidence of crabs, sandhoppers and other creatures
- sea thrift (Armeria maritima) flowering from June to August
- sea lavender (Limonium spp) flowering from July to December
- frosted orache (Atriplex sabulosa)
- sticky groundsel (Senecio viscosus)
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Freshwater lakes
Most of the rainfall on Brownsea gathers in two freshwater lakes, which were the result of peat digging activities. The reed beds around the lakes support a number of special birds.
Look out for:
- reed warblers
- reed buntings
- water rails (rarely seen but with a distinctive 'pig-squealing' call)
- tufted ducks
- little grebes
- grey herons and little egrets roosting around the lake edges
- hobbies in the summer
- water voles
- dragonflies and damselflies (24 species of dragonflies have been recorded around the lakes)
- ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi)
- lady's smock (Cardamine pratensis)
- marsh cinquefoil (Potentilla palustris)
- southern marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) flowering from May to June
- common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) flowering from June to August
- sika deer in the reed beds
© Dylan Lumborg
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Pinewoods and heath
Scots pine and non-native maritime pine predominate in parts of the island. There is a heronry and, since 1996, little egrets have bred on Brownsea in increasing numbers. The red squirrel is the most important pine-feeding creature. The open heath attracts many insects.
Look out for:
- red squirrels
- sika deer
- herons and little egrets nesting
- goldcrests
- treecreepers
- nuthatches
- many heathland insects including the small copper, common blue, silver studded blue and green hairstreak butterflies
- common lizards sunning themselves and green tiger beetles hunting in the heath on warm summer days
© Kevin Cook
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Mixed woodland
There are more than 60 types of tree on Brownsea, most of them the product of deliberate planting. The central valley contains native hardwoods, oak, beech, holly and ash. Introduced trees include sycamore, sweet and horse chestnut and conifers.
Look out for:
- woodpeckers
- jays
- wood warblers
- treecreepers
- tawny owls hunting at night
- the scarce bird's nest orchid (Neottia nidus-avis)
- butcher's broom (Ruscus aculeatus)
- varieties of fungi
© Carl Bjork
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