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...
Zoo keepers at Living Coasts are on high alert for hatching eggs!
Staff are keeping their eye on macaroni penguins and other species at Torquay’s coastal zoo.
Senior keeper Lois Rowell said: “We have five pairs of macaroni penguins on eggs. The first mac eggs could hatch during half term week. This is around the normal time of year for them.”
Macaroni penguins breed on their own rocky beach with a shady sunroof and a special cooling system of water pipes and mist sprays.
As they build nests out of pebbles, the chicks are more easily seen than those of the...
The number of seabirds recorded washed up on beaches in two incidents along the English Channel covered in polyisobutene (PIB) has passed 4,000.
Now, leading wildlife conservation and animal welfare charities and the UK Chamber of Shipping, supported by the wider industry body MaritimeUK, have come together as a single voice to call for an urgent review of the hazard classification status of PIB.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is currently investigating the cause and culprit of these incidents. If it is confirmed that this disaster was the result of illegal...
