Always something going on...

With over half of all bird species in the UK seen at Hengistbury Head, you are bound to see something amazing. We have installed live cameras across the headland to intimately capture the enchanting and often unseen life of birds. 

Keeping cameras working in the hostile environment of gales, driving rain and salty sea spray is expensive. Streaming costs around £1000 a year and we rely upon donations to make this happen. If you enjoy watching our wildlife webcams please consider a donation via our charitable partner - The Parks Foundation.

You can donate here.

In 2013 we incorporated a Barn Owl nest box in the apex of the Visitor Centre thatched barn. Our hopes of attracting such an iconic bird to nest here were only realised 12 years later in 2025! The pair have been observed mating so please keep a look out. Barn Owls usually lay 4 to 6 eggs with one egg laid every 2 to 3 days. The baby owls—called owlets—take just over a month to hatch, and when born, they’re tiny, pink, and have no feathers at all! At two months old, they’re ready to leave the nest. 

Attracting the Barn Owl to Hengistbury Head is a conservation success story. By managing Wick Fields for 30 years as an open, cattle grazed, grassland with pockets of woodland and hedgerows – it has developed as the perfect habitat for the hunting of voles and mice as well as small birds. Don’t be surprised to see prey brought into the nest box.

By the way Barn Owls don’t hoot—they make a loud, spooky screech, which can sound a bit like a squeaky door! And because they fly completely silently, historically people used to think they were ghosts drifting across the fields at night.

The Grey Heron is a majestic bird commonly seen in Christchurch Harbour where it nests in the tall pines on Hengistbury Head. Standing at up to 1 metre tall they are known for their distinctive slow and patient hunting style. Their diet consists of fish, but they also feed on amphibians, small mammals, and insects.

The Heron typically lays a clutch of 3 to 5 eggs - usually from early March into April. Both parents take turns incubating them for about 25 days. After hatching, the chicks are initially fed by both parents, who regurgitate food for them. The chicks grow rapidly, and by the time they are about 50 days old, they are ready to fledge, or leave the nest.

***Latest News*** three chicks have hatched!