Looking forward to a bountiful wild 2023!
Welcome to the first Wild East Devon news for 2023 which provides a monthly roundup of news from East Devon District Council's countryside team. Read on to discover how our wild birds are thriving and what you can do to help. Don't forget to follow us on social media (facebook, instagram and twitter) to see images of our wild visitors and the important conservation work our dedicated team carry out.
Events for 2023
Events for 2023 kick off with a Beginners Bird Watching drop-in session at Seaton Wetlands on Thursday 2nd of February, to celebrate World Wetlands Day. Ranger James will be in the Island Hide between 9am-12pm to help visitors identify our winter wildfowl and waders. Binoculars will be provided and no booking is required. Refreshments will be available in the Discovery Hut for visitors to enjoy.
From February half-term, make your way to Seaton Wetlands for a self-guided sensory trail. Stop, look and listen to your senses and connect with nature.
Rare bird sighting at Colyford Common
 Photo credit: Tim White
Shortly before Christmas, a very rare bird to the UK turned up at Colyford Common, part of the Seaton Wetlands network of sites. When identification was confirmed it caused something of a stir amongst bird watchers. This was only the second time in recorded history that this bird has been seen in Devon. The first time it was ever seen on mainland Britain was on Lundy Island in October 2019 for a single day.
The isabelline wheatear is a thrush-sized bird, closely related to the northern wheatears which can be seen on the Wetlands every spring and autumn. However, this wheatear should be on mountainous slopes between Turkey and the Gobi Desert, so it was a long way off course! The bird showed well for several days. It was seen again early in the new year and seemed oblivious to the bird watchers and photographers who flocked to catch a glimpse of this rarity. It was often seen darting from posts to the boardwalk running through the site and was seemingly feeding well despite the cold and wet weather of early January. Being seen constantly up until Saturday 14th January, this was the first ever isabelline wheatear to ‘overwinter’ in Britain!
Follow a walk around Offwell Woods
Enjoy this 3 mile walk which takes just over an hour to complete. Areas of this walk, especially the farmers field, are soggy in places so wear appropriate boots. Look out for nuthatches as you enter Offwell Woods and listen up for woodpeckers and kingfishers that frequent this area.
Common snipe at Trinity Hill: How to help them and why
 Trinity Hill Local Nature Reserve is a substantial patch of lowland heath, and our most easterly site, close to the Dorset border. The reserve is excellent for wildlife throughout the year. Even in winter, it provides a haven for common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), perhaps because the UK receives such a large influx of these characterful birds from northern Europe over winter (1.1 million birds, vs our 66,500 resident breeding pairs – RSPB figures).
Common snipe are small, stocky waders, 23-28cm in length, with very long and straight dark bills and pointed wings. Their bodies are mottled brown, with light yellow stripes above, and pale beneath. They have a dark stripe pattern through the eye, with light stripes above and below. This pattern helps to keep them extremely well camouflaged, especially in their favoured habitats of grassland, wetland and moorland. They like to forage in soft mud by probing, or picking up food by sight, eating mainly insects, earthworms and some plant material. Trinity Hill is thus a perfect spot for snipe during the winter, as it displays characteristics of all three of these habitat types, and many parts of the reserve become waterlogged over winter providing them with ideal foraging conditions.
Reducing our carbon footprint with sustainable power
 To assist our nature conservation work in a sustainable way, we have been looking for a robust and flexible general-purpose vehicle capable of carrying personnel, tools and materials around our various sites. We were very keen to choose a vehicle that would help reduce our carbon footprint through sustainable electric power.
Considerable research led us to Eco Charger, with its range of ‘all electric’ quad bikes, and a proven track record. We selected the Pioneer model because it is an all-terrain, all purpose vehicle with sustainability and environmental sensitivity. As well as being very quiet to avoid disturbing wildlife, its versatility allows us to speedily complete tasks, cover large distances and get to locations where a normal 4x4 would cause damage. For example, we can re-seed wildflowers over large tracts with the minimum of disruption and with its compact size, we can travel along our narrow walk and cycle ways without forcing visitors onto the verges.
Help with tree planting at West Clyst
 Help plant trees for nature to make neighbourhoods green, as a climate-friendly force for good. You can meet a 4-metre high T-Rex called Rexy too!
East Devon District Council has joined forces with Clyst Valley farmer, Henry Gent, to create a new woodland.
On Saturday 11th February, everyone is invited to help plant a variety of trees and shrubs just east of Minerva Country Park and west of Cranbrook.
Rexy and his little brother Gordon are fun for the children, but there’s a serious message too. We all know what happened to the dinosaurs and we need to act quickly on the climate and nature emergency. The planting site is on the New Red Sandstone from the Triassic period. Dinosaurs were around from the late Triassic, when a species called Gordonia traquairi lived. Gordonia looked like an armour-plated dog.
|
