Devon Birds has two small reserves at Prawle, the most southerly part of Devon. These were bought and developed primarily as migrant stopover points.
The Prawle Point reserve comprises a fenced wooded area directly opposite the National Trust car park, and an adjacent small area of open scrubland either side of the access road to Prawle Point cottages to the South. Access to the fenced area is through a gate with a combination lock and is restricted to Devon Birds members. The combination number of the lock can be obtained by emailing
East Prawle reserve lies next to a public footpath through the Pig’s Nose Valley. The reserve is covered in woodland that has been left in its natural state and is therefore inaccessible.
https://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/places_to_go/prawle_reserves
Devon Birds sightings
- Hits: 985
Roadford Reservoir is located to the north-east of Broadwoodwidger in West Devon eight miles east of Launceston. It is the largest area of fresh water in South West England. It was the third and last ‘strategic’ reservoir in South West Water’s plans for SW England, after Colliford & Wimbleball. It receives water from the River Wolf, has a surface area of 295 hectares (729 acres) and a storage capacity of 34,500 megalitres (8 billion gallons).
After the sluices were closed in October 1989, the reservoir started to fill and the first wildfowl (now WeBS) count was carried out in November 1989. Since then, a team of up to eight counters has carried out monthly counts (in all weathers!) of all wildfowl, waders and gulls on the reservoir by walking four different stretches of the reservoir bank. The monthly WeBS count figures are entered in the logbook in the hide and the data is submitted online to WeBS. The hide at Westmoor, donated by Devon Birds, was opened by Bill Oddie on 31 March 1995.
https://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/places_to_go/roadford_reservoir
Devon Birds sightings
- Hits: 1075
The reserve includes the largest natural freshwater lake in south-west England. Separated from the ocean by a narrow shingle bar, the lake is surrounded by reedbeds, marshes and woodland habitats.
Main habitats: open water, marshes, woodlands
Management: Slapton Ley is managed by the Field Studies Council on behalf of the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Features of interest
Further information about the NNR, its wildlife and how to visit can be found on the Slapton Ley website.
Contact
Field Studies Council: telephone 01548 580466 or email:
- Hits: 1156
Slapton Ley is a lagoon on the south coast of Devon, separated from Start Bay by a narrow shingle beach, known as Slapton Sands. It is the largest natural freshwater lake in the south west of England.
The 1.5 mile long lake is within a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is made up of two parts (the Lower Ley and the Higher Ley). The lake is surrounded by reedbeds, marshes and woodland habitats with rare species thriving in the unique conditions.
It is managed by the Field Studies Council in partnership with the owners Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, Natural England and South Hams District Council. All the partners meet regularly at Slapton Committee meetings.
https://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/places_to_go/slapton_ley
Devon Birds sightings
- Hits: 1109
Tamar Lakes straddle the Devon/Cornwall border seven miles from Holsworthy and six miles from the A39 – the Lower Lake is entirely in Devon and is predominantly managed as a nature reserve. The Higher Lake is mainly managed as a Water Sports Centre although some birds do use it.
Lower Tamar is surrounded by farmland, well-grown deciduous trees and bushes. It was completed in July 1823 so has had many years to mature into a haven for wildlife. It covers 70 acres and was the Bude area water supply until 1978 when the Upper Lake took over this function.
The bird list for the lakes currently stands at 205 species including Whooper Swan, Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Whiskered Tern, Long-billed Dowitcher, Iceland Gull etc.
https://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/places_to_go/tamar_lakes
Devon Birds sightings
- Hits: 1099
Devon Birds took over the area surrounding the Velator SWW former sewage treatment site when it was converted into an automated pumping station in 1998. It is only suitable as a ‘closed’ reserve, so no general access, but members are welcome by appointment.
The area was landscaped and extensively planted with a variety of native trees – mostly Willow, but good numbers of Alder, Oak and Ash, some Elder, with Guelder Rose, Sea Buckthorn and Hawthorn providing the berry crop – these have been nurtured over the succeeding years, so that there is now extensive tree cover. This took a long time as the growth of Charlock was difficult to keep down! Also the landscaping was completed with immense amounts building rubble, with very little topsoil in many places.
https://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/places_to_go/velator
Devon Birds sightings at Velator
- Hits: 1041
South Huish Reserve lies in a shallow valley cut off from the sea by the dunes behind South Milton Sands. The Reserve together with the South Milton Ley Reserve in the adjacent valley and nearby coast are visited by up to 200 bird species in a typical year.
The National Trust took ownership of the Reserve in 2011. Devon Birds has managed the Reserve since 1994 under an agreement with the previous owner. The agreement is due to expire in 2015 and discussions are in progress with the National Trust on the future of this agreement.
When Devon Birds took over management of the Reserve shallow scrapes were formed, drains reshaped and enlarged to introduce an important new habitat, and sluices installed to control water levels. The objective is to retain sufficient water in the scrapes to prevent them drying out over the summer.
No access is permitted within the Reserve.
https://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/places_to_go/south_huish
Devon Birds sightings
- Hits: 1020
South Milton Ley Reserve is a 16 hectare wildlife refuge that was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1984. It includes Devon’s second largest reedbed and together with the South Huish Meadowlands in the adjacent valley and nearby coast is visited by up to 200 bird species in a typical year.
Devon Birds acquired the core reedbed in 1976 and has added to the original landholding in stages to form buffer zones. Active management of the Reserve by Devon Birds has increased the reedbed by two hectares and extensive planting in the buffer zones has provided shelter and food for the birds.
The water level in the Reserve depends on the height of the sandbank at the mouth of the Ley. Wave action can build up the sandbank and flood the Reserve for up to half-a-mile inland for weeks at a time. The floods usually occur in winter and subside when a storm breaches the sandbank.
Access to the Reserve is restricted to Devon Birds members.
https://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/places_to_go/south_milton_ley
Devon Birds sightings
- Hits: 1045
The Dart Estuary MCZ is an inshore site that covers an area of approximately 5 km². The site is located in south Devon and encompasses the upper part of the Dart Estuary down to Anchor Stone, south of Dittisham.
The Dart Estuary MCZ supports a diverse array of habitats and species, including a number of rare species. Estuaries are important contributors to a healthy environment and have an important role as a nursery ground for juvenile fish. Large areas of the site consist of intertidal mud, which is a highly productive habitat and provides feeding and resting grounds for wading and migratory birds. This is also an important habitat for the nationally scarce tentacled lagoon worm. This is a tiny bristleworm which grows up to 5 mm in length and creates and lives in tubes within the mud habitats of the estuary. These worms have tentacles around their mouths used for gathering food from the surrounding muddy sediments. The tentacled lagoon worm is particularly vulnerable to activities that cause changes in its habitat.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-conservation-zones-dart-estuary
- Hits: 1173
Wikipedia The estuary is a Special Protection Area and SSSI. It is also a Ramsar site.
The Exe Estuary is a site of international importance for wading birds, which feed on the estuary mudflats at low tide, and roost at high tide at the adjacent Dawlish Warren SSSI and Bowling Green Marsh. The RSPB has two nature reserves adjoining the estuary, at Bowling Green Marsh and Exminster Marshes.
Over 10,000 wildfowl and 20,000 waders winter on the estuary. These include dark-bellied brent goose (Branta bernicla), Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope), ringed plover (Charadius hiaticula), black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), and pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta).
The Exminster Marshes, a series of fields drained by dykes and ditches, carry several plants rare in Devon including parsley, water dropwort (Oenanthe lachenalii), flowering rush Butomus umbellatus and frogbit Hydrocharis morsus-ranae. Dragonflies are also supported, such as the ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) and hairy dragonfly (Brachytron pratense).
The marshes are bounded by the Exeter Canal. Both are fringed by beds of common reed Phragmites australis, providing important habitat for Old World warblers.
Burrowing invertebrates are found in the sandbanks and mudflats. These include lugworm (Arenicola marina), peppery furrow shell (Scrobicularia plana), tellins Macoma spp., common cockle (Cerastoderma edule), pod razor (Ensis siliqua), sea potato (Echinocardium cordatum), and masked crab (Corystes cassivelaunus). Beds of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) are food for Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus). The estuary is the only British location for the polychaete worm Ophelia bicornia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exe_Estuary
Exe Estuary. 11/03/92; England; 2,346 ha; 50°39'N 003°27'W. Special Protection Area EC Directive; SSSI, Local Nature Reserve. The estuary includes shallow offshore waters, extensive mud and sand flats, saltmarsh, a complex of marshes and damp pasture, and an extensive dune system. The area is important for internationally important numbers of several species of wintering and passage waterbirds and functions as a refuge during severe weather. Ramsar site no. 542. Most recent RIS information: 1999.
https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/542
The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The convention entered into force in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 5 May 1976.
The United Kingdom currently has 175 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 1,283,040 hectares.
- Hits: 2076
