A new bird study on Dartmoor reveals dunlin numbers have increased in response to efforts to restore the moor's famous mires.
The dunlin is a small wading bird. They breed across northern Europe, Russia and North America, but globally their most southerly breeding location is on Dartmoor. In the UK their population numbers 9,600 pairs and they are completely reliant on good quality blanket bog for breeding.
The Dartmoor Mires Project is a pilot scheme exploring the feasibility and effects of restoring degraded blanket bog on Dartmoor, and is being coordinated by Dartmoor...
Summer at the Axe Estuary Wetlands near Seaton can only mean one thing – it’s time for the Wet ’n’ Wild Summer Festival on Saturday August 16, organised by East Devon District Council’s Countryside team.
The day starts at 8am (weather permitting) with a bird ringing demonstration by the Axe Estuary Ringing Group, and a chance to identify and learn about live moths caught in a moth trap during the previous night.
From 10am until 4pm there will be plenty of activities for visitors of all ages to enjoy, including willow weaving, storytelling, children’s craft activities,...
The Dartmoor cuckoos which were tagged and tracked last year on the long journey to their African wintering grounds are now heading home.
The Dartmoor cuckoo project which began with the tagging of four Dartmoor birds last year is still waiting for the two birds who survived the arduous migration to Africa to make it back to our shores.
In 2013 Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), in partnership with Devon Birds, took part in a ground-breaking national satellite tagging project run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to learn about the migration of Dartmoor's...
We know it's early but we promise it will be worth it! The songbirds will be singing from the treetops and we'll help you learn more about our marvellous spring visitors.
Exminster Marsh is famed for its warblers, lighting up the landscape with their fantastic range of sounds, inspiring the Sun to make its presence felt at last! So come and join us and let the warblers rock your world.
We'll meet in the Exminster Marsh car park at 6am before a tour around the reserve. We'll then finish with a breakfast at the Swan's Nest pub (included in the price...
Now that spring has sprung The Donkey Sanctuary is offering bird-lovers a very special breakfast ‘bird ringing’ demonstration to show how birds are tagged so that they can be identified and tracked and so that we can learn more about their fascinating habits.
Participants can enjoy an introductory talk followed by the chance to watch licensed ringers catch, tag and record some woodland birds. Maybe even a beautiful woodpecker, like the one pictured. There may be the opportunity to release the birds.
James Chubb, The Donkey Sanctuary’s wildlife expert, said:
A Devon zoo is the best in Europe for breeding some key species. And it’s partly down to its location – in Torquay.
Living Coasts is the best among top animal collections for breeding species such as African penguins, blue spotted stingrays and Inca terns. Its coastal position is one of the keys to its success.
Clare Rugg, the Living Coasts Operations Manager, explains: “The site is close to a source of clean, cool seawater, so we don’t have to make our own saltwater. Also, the fresh sea breezes help to counter aspergillosis, a common respiratory problem, as well as avian...
Wildlife charities have welcomed the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) swift action to ban ships across the world from discharging all forms of high viscosity polyisobutylene (PIB) into the sea during tank cleaning operations. PIB was the chemical responsible for the deaths of over 4000 seabirds on the south west coast earlier this year.
The tragedy, the largest marine pollution incident of its kind in the region since Torrey Canyon, shocked thousands of people.
At a meeting of the IMO’s working group on the Evaluation of Safety and Pollution Hazards of Chemicals...
These geese are part of a global, public-participatory piece I am working on in collaboration with Professor Stuart Bearhop of Exeter University. I am sending out 10,000 postcards in the shape of migratory geese all over the world, asking people to write on them and post them back to me. Those that return to complete their ‘migration’ will hang in a huge installation in the shape of a flock of birds at Hope Hall, Heavitree in Exeter during Devon Open Studios in September.
As individuals, birds are vulnerable, insignificant - en masse, in migration, they signify a powerful force of...
Bird keepers at Paignton Zoo have seen a burst of late-season hatchings.
It’s thought to be thanks to the weather.
Curator of Birds Jo Gregson said: “It’s because we had a cold spring followed by a good summer. Many species have bred later this year.”
The current crop of chicks includes toco toucans, red-legged seriemas, southern screamers and black crowned cranes.
The toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) can be difficult to breed; Paignton is the only UK zoo to have bred the species this year. Native to South America, toco toucans are the most recognizable of the...
Find out more about our feathered friends in RAMM’s birds’ gallery. RSPB experts will be on hand to answer your questions on the collections and the work of the RSPB.
Free guided wildlife tours through RAMM start in the In Find Feather gallery at 11am and 2pm. The tours are a 20 to 30 minute walk around the museum discovering the fantastic wildlife on display and how the RSPB is helping to protect it. Discover underwater wonders around Devon's shores, learn how bees are saving the UK millions of pounds a year, find out which piece of clothing inspired the RSPB's origins and how...
