| The Tamar Valley is a protected ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ for most of its course, and is an excellent spot for birdwatching. Even in its upper reaches in North Tamerton, we are treated to some beautiful feathered visitors. This year we are sharing our ‘Big Garden Bird Watch‘, as organised by the RSPB, as well as listing some of the other species spotted in our grounds. |  |
All our cottages have access to their own bird tables. In our peaceful rural location, we have a range of habitats nearby, from dense coniferous forests to ancient oak woodlands, from riverside marshes to grassy meadows.
The first list was compiled on Sunday 29th January 2017 as part of the Big Garden Bird Watch. We managed 13 species. How many did you count?
- Chaffinch 1
- Collared dove 1
- Dunnock 1
- Magpie 1
- Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
- Blackbird 2
- Coal tit 2
- Great tit 2
- Robin 2
- Blue tit 3
- Sparrow 4
- Goldfinch 14 (they love the Niger Seed)
- Starling 26
The following list features birds we have seen in or around our grounds, but who unfortunately didn’t make an appearance during the hour long birdwatch:
- Barn Owl (We have several owl boxes in our grounds)
- Bullfinch
- Buzzard
- Field Fare
- Greenfinch
- Heron
- Housemartin
- Jay
- Lapwing
- Little Owl
- Long-tailed Tit
- Lesser Redpoll
- Marsh Tit
- Nuthatch
- Pheasant
- Pied Wagtail
- Raven
- Redwing
- Rook
- Siskin
- Song Thrush
- Sparrowhawk
- Swallow
- Swift
- Tawny Owl
- Wood Pigeon
- Wren
The lower reaches of the Tamar include broad mud flats and very particular habitats, and patient twitchers may be treated to a glimpse of avocets and egrets, spoonbills and peregrines, kingfishers and herons. The Tamar Valley was even once the site of a reintroduction program for ospreys. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars!
