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PURBECK MARINE WILDLIFE RESERVE
Coastal Wildlife
The Purbeck coast is one of Britain's most outstanding and largely unspoilt stretches of coastline, with beautiful cliff top walks. The Fine Foundation Marine Centre provides and excellent opportunity for families and schools to enjoy the magnificent scenery and the spectacular wildlife along the shoreline and beneath the waves. Displays, undersea camera, aquaria and interactive exhibits provide an exciting environment to discover the wonders of the undersea world for both young and old alike.
Wildlife on the Cliffs
The Reserve extends to the cliff tops and thrift, sea campion and rock samphire are widespread. Red admiral, painted lady, small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies are regularly seen. The open grasslands are good places for wheatear, whinchat and stonechat. Gad Cliff is home to a large colony of breeding cormorants and peregrine, and raven can also be found here. Other birds to watch for are buzzards, oystercatchers, rock pipits and lapwings.
The Sea Shore
Kimmeridge Bay is particularly suitable for marine wildlife exploration. Its shallow, clear waters and extended low tide period make the abundant and varied marine life more accessible. The upper shore is restricted to marine plants and animals that are able to cope with prolonged drying out, such as channel wrack and spiral wrack seaweeds whose shriveled appearance quickly revives at the next tide.
Life in the middle shore is considerably easier though it is still a harsh environment with regular and prolonged periods of exposure. Animals employ two strategies to overcome drying out; limpets and barnacles shut up tight and wit for the next tide whilst the shore crab, common blenny and winkle take refuge somewhere cool and damp.
The lowest section of the shore is like a huge rockpool, with shallow water and ledges projecting into it like jetties. Beautiful coloured seaweeds, crabs, fish and anemones living in the shallow water can all be easily viewed from the ledges at low tide.
Fossils
Fossils are abundant in the Kimmeridge shales. Ammonites are the most common, but bivalves, like today's sea shells, are also often found. The cliffs in the bay are extremely unstable and it is highly dangerous to collect fossils from them. It is much safer to pick up fossils from the beach.