Birdwatching on Exmoor

Exmoor boasts an amazing 243 species of birds that fly over Exmoor, with approximately 100 of these species nesting on Exmoor. Exmoor is the perfect place to go bird-watching, due to its mild winters, and varieties of vegetation and ecosystems, with rugged cliffs, heathland, moorland, woodland and valleys.

A distinct bird that bird-watchers would love to see on their travels is the Dartford warbler – Exmoor alone is home to 4% of the Dartford warblers’ UK population. They can be found in the heathland. Exmoor has helped to dramatically increase the population of these, thanks to both milder winters and the hard work of Exmoor’s conservation team, up to 68 territories from a mere handful of them, which is encouraging for the future of wildlife conservation on Exmoor. The coastal heaths, Dunkery, Molland Moor and East Anstey Common are perhaps the best places to find them in.

But the Dartford warbler is not the only regionally important bird found on Exmoor. The RSPB have found that significant numbers of winchats, stonechats, grasshopper warblers, merlins and tree pipits also exist on Exmoor. This was surveyed over 170 square kilometres of Exmoor’s moorland.

The outstanding work of the Exmoor rangers and the conservation team combined with changing climates have also helped to raise the population of the whitethroat, willow warbler, lesser redpoll, linnet and the reed bunting. Meanwhile due to the changing climate it is more of a challenge to find curlews, lapwings, black and red grouses and ring ouzels, due to their declining population, in contrary to the success story of the Dartford warbler.
It is not just these birds that Exmoor plays home to – some of the other 243 species of bird that fly over the park are raptors, buzzards, sparrow hawks, kestrels, peregrines, hobbies, hen harriers, red kites, goshawks, kingfishers, dippers, hoopoes and mergansers, which are found in different terrains of Exmoor. Kingfishers for example are found by rivers and in valleys rather than on heathland like many other birds. The vast variety of birds mean there is always a new challenge for bird-watchers, with an exciting view and scenery to go with it. It has a rich bird life, whether the birds are only migrating or whether they are nesting semi-permanently, there will always be something new for you to see. Exmoor is just simply perfect for bird-watching, because it manages to successfully capture both the best of British birds, and the best of the British countryside, in one peaceful and calm place.
Try one of our Exmoor Special Breaks and take a stroll on Exmoor to see what birds you can spot http://www.exmoor-whitehorse.co.uk/special-offers.ashx