| Links on this page
|
Links on Page 1
|
Migrating birds and butterflies
 The Coast Path is the best place to see the many species
of birds that travel with the changing seasons. For the
summer migrants arriving to breed in the spring, the
southern coast of Cornwall, Devon or Dorset is the first
land fall as well as their jumping -off point for their
long return journey south in the autumn. (Look for swallows,
swifts, martins, wheatears, warblers, black redstarts,
pied flycatchers, osprey). Other birds that breed in
northern Europe fly south to Britain for the winter to
take advantage of the milder climate and better food
supply (Look on the estuaries for geese, ducks and waders).
During autumn, sheltered valleys on the coast of west
Cornwall are great places for seeing ‘vagrants’ -
birds that have been blown off-course by autumn gales while
migrating southwards along the east coast of North America.
But it’s not only birds that migrate. In summer keep
a special look out for two butterflies – Painted Ladies
and Clouded Yellows. Depending on conditions, occasionally
they arrive from further south in Europe in bumper numbers,
and will breed to give a second generation of butterflies
later in the year.
Peregrine falcons
 The fastest bird in the world, the peregrine is perhaps
Britain’s
most spectacular bird of prey. When stooping after its
prey it reaches speeds of about 110 mph (180kph). Persecution
and pollution caused a drastic fall in numbers from the
time of the Second World War until a European ban on
persistent pesticides allowed numbers to slowly recover.
The steep cliffs around the coast of south west England
provide ideal nest sites and the alert Coast Path walker
has quite a good chance of seeing these splendid birds -
even through the coastal towns where peregrines sometimes
nest on the artificial cliffs provided by high buildings.
They have a distinctive kek-kek-kek call and you will often
hear them before you spot them. If you do see one you should
take great care not to disturb it.
Seabird colonies
 The cliffs alongside the Coast Path provide breeding grounds
for countless seabirds, some common and well-known and
others that are more local and less-familiar.
Many seabirds are colonial during the breeding season and
from April to July you can see – and hear – one
of these great natural spectacles at many locations along
the Path. Two that are accessible to everyone and have CCTV
cameras allowing live views of the colonies in action are
Berry Head National Nature Reserve at Torquay in Devon and
Durlston Country Park just outside Swanage in Dorset. If you have limited mobility, each of the sites has a Tramper mobility scooter you can borrow.
Among the birds that you can expect to see are herring and
black backed gulls, kittiwakes, fulmars, shags, jackdaws,
guillemots and razorbills.
Whale, seal and dolphin spotting
 While walking the Coast Path you may be lucky enough to
see some of the exciting marine creatures that occur in the
waters of south-west of England. Headlands provide the best
vantage points and calm weather will make it easier to spot
movement in the water.
There are resident populations of bottle-nosed and common
dolphins and some species of whale are occasionally seen
further out to sea. The second biggest species of fish in
the world, the basking shark, is a regular visitor, appearing
throughout the summer, while there is a small and scattered
resident population of grey seals.
Surprisingly little is known about many of these wonderful
creatures and you can help to improve our knowledge if you
make a note of what you see.
 |
 |
 |
| If
you are interested in helping please get in touch
with: |
| In Somerset |
the Somerset Environmental
Records Centre
- 01823 664450 |
| In Cornwall |
the Cornwall Wildlife
Trust
- 01872 273939 |
| In Devon |
the Devon Biodiversity
Records Centre
- 01392 279244 |
| In Dorset |
the Durlston Marine
Project
- 01929 421111 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
