As we head towards International Dawn Chorus Day in May, East Devon District Council’s Countryside team are organising their own celebration at the Seaton Wetlands on Saturday 18 April at 5.30am.
The Dawn Chorus Walk will be led by Steve Waite, County Bird Recorder, who will help to identify each species by their song. Weather permitting, there will be a demonstration by the Axe Estuary Ringing group after the walk – a chance to see wild birds up close.
Bacon butties and hot drinks will be available for a small charge. Set your alarm and don’t miss this opportunity to...
At Living Coasts, the theme for 2015 is Dive & Flight. Torquay’s coastal zoo and aquarium is celebrating everything that flies in the air or dives in the water. Staff will use the theme in talks, quizzes, craft workshops and trails.
At Easter there will be an Easter Egg trail, live chicks and a crazy Easter Bunny Dive Show. The cute chicks will be in Front of House between Good Friday and Easter Monday (3rd to 6th April). Children will be able to follow a fun trail around the zoo and receive a chocolaty treat when they finish.
Meet local bird experts from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Discover underwater wonders around Devon’s shores, learn how bees are saving the UK millions of pounds a year, which piece of clothing inspired the RSPB’s origins and how everything from tigers to sparrows are being protected by local conservationists.
Free drop in, 11am-4pm.
Wildlife Tours - 11am and 2pm - Join them for a 20 to 30 minute walk around the museum to see the wildlife on display.
Anyone with an interest in gardening to benefit wildlife is invited to an event on Wednesday 18 February between 10am and 2pm at the Axe Estuary Wetlands, Seaton.
The East Devon District Council Countryside team will be developing their wildlife garden on the nature reserve and are looking for help with practical hands on tasks such as clearing and planting.
Steve Edmonds, Countryside Team Leader (Sites) said: “Our aim is to encourage a wider range of native insects, invertebrates, birds and mammals to the site by making sure they have a good variety of food sources and...
Meet local bird experts from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Discover underwater wonders around Devon’s shores, learn how bees are saving the UK millions of pounds a year, which piece of clothing inspired the RSPB’s origins and how everything from tigers to sparrows are being protected by local conservationists.
Wildlife Tours - 11am and 2pm
Join them for a 20 to 30 minute walk around the museum to see the wildlife on display.
A local charity is offering people ideas for a wild Christmas with a difference.
Leading conservation charity Devon Wildlife Trust has developed a series of ideas for ‘wild Christmas escapes’ and is urging people to spend just a small part of the festive season and get away from the excesses and stresses of this time of year.
Devon Wildlife Trust’s Steve Hussey explained the idea: "Despite all the merry making Christmas can bring with it a series of challenges to our health and well-being. And if this seems a bit Scrooge-like then which of us can really say that we haven’t...
Birds learn new foraging techniques by observing others in their social network according to a study involving University of Exeter researchers. The report on how innovations spread and persist in wild great tits (Parus major) shows that ‘copycat’ behaviour can sustain foraging ‘traditions’ that last years. The study involved experiments with eight local populations of great tits in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire (UK). In five of the populations two male birds were trained to slide a puzzle box door either to the left or to the right. In three control groups two males were captured but not...
Bird populations across Europe have experienced sharp declines over the past 30 years, with the majority of losses from the most common species, say researchers from the University of Exeter, the RSPB and the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) in a new study. However numbers of some less common birds have risen.
The study, published yeseterday in the journal Ecology Letters, reveals a decrease of 421 million individual birds over 30 years. Around 90 percent of these losses were from the 36 most common and widespread species, including house sparrows, skylarks, grey...
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,...
