Discover Wildlife

Click for a slideshow of photos taken by entrants to our annual photo competition. Captions and a full size version can be viewed by clicking on the 4-way arrow.

See the Walks for Everyone pages to find descriptions of Coast Path walks which are especially good for wildlife. You can search for a walk that is known for its wildlife interest as well as by area, length and degree of difficulty.

Go really wild... bask in the endless pink of seathrift, the rolling heather with splashes of yellow gorse. Hear the call of the peregrine, spot an elusive seal or pod of dolphins.

The South West Coast Path is a brilliant place to enjoy wildlife - walking the edge between land and sea you get the best of both worlds. You’ll encounter many different habitats as the Path passes through woodland, scrub, heath or grassland and beside sand dunes, shingle ridges, estuaries, salt marsh and rocky shores.

But it’s not just about variety. The quality of these habitats is equally good and you’ll be able to walk through or beside many sites of national and international conservation importance.

In looking after the Coast Path we can sometimes also improve conditions for wildlife. Grazing by cattle and ponies is increasingly being used to both keep the Path free of overhanging vegetation and to stop bracken and scrub from invading the open clifftops. This maintains a much richer assemblage of plants, insects and other animals.

Here are just a few Coast Path wildlife highlights.

The most extensive wooded sections are on Exmoor and in North Devon with a further long stretch through the Undercliff between Axmouth and Lyme Regis.

These north coast oak woodlands have generally survived on steep slopes that weren’t easy to cultivate – some of them are ancient (over 400 years old) with a huge array of associated species of plants and animals. There is interest here all the year from the spring displays of primrose, wood anemone and bluebell to the moss and lichen decorating the trees and and ground in winter.

Moving further west into North Cornwall, the oaks are often stunted by exposure to the strong westerly winds, some trees being barely taller than the heather.

The ash woodland of the East Devon Undercliff was one of Britain’s first National Nature Reserves and is now part of a Special Area of Conservation.

The chough is a member of the crow family with scarlet legs and beak and a distinctive 'chee-oww' call. It needs sea cliffs and crevices in which to nest, and grassy cliff tops with plenty of insects and larvae to feed on. Grazing by cattle and ponies is needed to keep the habitat open and farmers, landowners and conservation organisations (supported by government grants) had worked together for ten years to create suitable conditions to support choughs. This effort is continuing in new areas to encourage the birds to spread. By walking the Coast Path you will also help, as your feet trample the grass and keep it short!

To learn more or to view details of any RSPB-led guided walks to see the Cornish chough, visit the South West England pages of the RSPB website or call the RSPB on 01392 432691.

Careful land management supported by government grants has allowed the population to grow from 118 pairs in 1989 to nearly 700 pairs in 2003 - a real conservation success story. The South West Coast Path between Wembury and the River Exe is your best chance of seeing this relative of the yellowhammer.

Locally in south and east Devon and more widely in Dorset, where there is limestone or chalk underfoot, plants such as wild orchids, early gentian and wild cabbage can be found, sometimes in great numbers.

On Exmoor, in west Cornwall, East Devon and Dorset, coastal heath adds to the variety of the scene. Here summer sees a blaze of purple heathers and yellow gorse, with lower growing tormentil and ladies bedstraw. In addition to ling, bell and cross-leaved heather you will also find the more local Dorset and Cornish heath. The latter is restricted to the heaths of the Lizard National Nature Reserve, where you can find no fewer than 18 nationally rare plants.

Sand dunes are yet another habitat with a spectacular array of wildflowers, many of them specially adapted to the conditions. As well as being dry and salty, the dune soils are sometimes lime-rich from broken-up shells. Sea holly, sea spurge, evening primrose, a range of orchids and viper’s bugloss are among the plants you will find here. Excellent sand dune systems occur at Studland Bay in Dorset, at Rock, Penhale and Hayle in Cornwall, and at Braunton Burrows in North Devon - now part of a Unesco World Biosphere Reserve.