Exmoor Bird watching

Exmoor is great for bird watching, whatever the time of year

This information is offered to those who would like another dimension to their holiday, or short break, rather than to those looking for a dedicated bird-watching holiday.

Exmoor's diverse and varied landscape supports many different types of habitats: remote rocky cliffs, (perigrine falcons), coastal marshland areas, sheltered wooded combes above sparkling streams and rivers, (dippers and kingfishers), upland moorland of both heather and gorse, (stonechats and winchats), acid grassland and the inland water of Wimbleball Lake, (dab chicks, grebes, various waders and ducks, frequent goosanders).

Because Exmoor is relatively small, all its corners and habitats can re reached by very easily by car. Slightly longer journeys, take you to other interesting places, e.g. the Tawe Valley, (advocets), is about one hour away.

But you don't even to leave your cottage to see a good selection of the nationally less common birds.

What is this? -- seen by us and guests in Toads Breech on our own lawn 2 springs ago.

Buzzards cottage is named for the obvious reason, it is unusual for a day to pass without seeing one, or more buzzards wheeling above our own, or our neigbours', fields. We also have other raptors, such as sparrow hawks and, two years ago, peregrines nested on an old small quarry less than a mile away. There are hobbies on Haddon Hill, 5 minutes car away. Our resident owls are not shy about their presence! We have several families of fly catchers raised each year, gold finches love the thistle and other seed heads in our orchard field, (primarily for guests own enjoyment), nut hatches, tree creepers, wagtails like the area round the seasonal pond and the banks and high beech trees bordering Toads Breech's private garden and the old farmyard around Buzzards.

Wimbeball lake is 5 minutes car away with winter and summer waterfowl, dabchicks, grebes, occasional merganisers, waders increasing as water levels drop as the the year progresses. It has a perimeter path round its complete12 mile radius, on the nearer side, it's easy walking encourages more visitors and its eastern side, especially round Cow Moor Bay and the Upton Arm only tend to be visited by serious walkers and keen bird watchers

©Weatherham Farm 2003

Brompton Regis, Dulverton, Somerset, TA22 9LG, England. Tel. (0)1398 371303