South Devon - Wildlife in Tor Bay including Boat Trip (Day Trip)

Details on the boat trip: The trip will last for 2.5 hours and we will be chartering the vessel to go exactly where we want to find the wildlife. Our aim will be to get closer to the wildlife in the bay and it will provide excellent photographic opportunities. Tor Bay is superb for its summer wildlife, with a good chance of observing many cetaceans, and also the breeding birds which may include Guillemots and Shags, whilst passing birds may include Manx Shearwaters and the globally-threatened Balearic Shearwater. We will also explore the edge of Berry Head for Harbour Porpoise and possibly Common Dolphins, while Grey Seals are often found. The boat trip is only likely to be cancelled if the winds are from the east or north0-east which is rare here. Given its east-facing aspect, Tor Bay is most often very sheltered and the reason it is so favoured by the wildlife. In the unlikely event that the boat trip is cancelled, we will refund £40 of the trip cost and an excellent day can still be enjoyed from the land.

Spring and Summer:

In spring and summer, we will start with a morning 2.5-hour boat trip around Tor Bay and Berry Head to enjoy the towering cliffs and Guillemot colony. We may be lucky enough to see Harbour Porpoise, Grey Seal, Peregrine Falcon, Raven and Fulmar as well as obtaining closer views of Gannets, Guillemots, Shag, Cormorant and perhaps Manx Shearwater, Puffin and Common Dolphins. Into the summer and autumn, we can hope for various terns, skuas and hopefully, the globally-threatened Balearic Shearwater too. Make sure you pack your camera for there are often great photographic opportunities.
The afternoon will involve a short drive to Berry Head and a 2-mile walk exploring this jewel in the crown of Torbay. A wildlife-filled stroll around the headland and quarry plus an in-depth look at the special measures put in place to enhance opportunities for the resident Cirl Bunting and Greater Horseshoe Bat population. Through the spring and summer orchids will come and go, from Early Purple through to the last and delicate Autumn Lady's Tresses. Mike will guide you through the 400 million-year-old geological history and heritage of Berry Head, leading to its importance for natural history today. A walk through the meadow and scrubby areas of this impressive headland is a good place to find Cirl Buntings while searching for migrant birds and keeping an ear and eye on the sky for any visible migration.
Reaching the headland we will walk to the old coast guard station and lighthouse, and from here we’ll scan the sea for any passing seabirds or cetaceans. Divers, auks and skuas may pass by offshore and Berry Head has an excellent reputation for sightings of Common Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises. The isolated scrub on the headland can hold resting or sheltering migrant birds, typically Goldcrest, Chiffchaffs and perhaps Firecrest or even something rarer! The grassy open areas at the head are best for any late Wheatears or pipits. Walking back via the southern slopes of the northern headland, we’ll look out for resident Stonechat, mobile tit flocks and thrushes. The blackthorn- and hawthorn-covered slopes regularly hide Ring Ouzel during the autumn. The south coast’s largest Guillemot colony should be bustling with life on thrift-filled cliffs. Mike knows the whereabouts of much of the headland's more unusual fauna and flora from Cirl Buntings and Small Blue butterflies to orchids and the White Rock-rose. Some of the day will be spent studying the work being carried out on the reserve for Cirl Buntings and Greater Horseshoe Bats. Summer migrants such as Whitethroats and Blackcaps should be announcing their territories with song and display. Being out in the middle of many bird species' migration period anything is possible from Willow Warblers to a Hoopoe! Off the end of the headland, the mixing of currents from Torbay and Lyme Bay always attracts wildlife, depending on conditions on the day this might include Harbour Porpoise, Common Dolphin, Grey Seal or seabirds including Gannet, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater or even a Puffin. There is an opportunity for a coffee stop at the Guardhouse Café while we look south towards the high cliffs which, during the summer, hold England’s largest south coast breeding Guillemot colony. Surprisingly, many of the Guillemots return to the cliffs from mid-autumn to rest and roost on the cliffs for the winter - sometimes over 1,000 can be seen early in the mornings, with smaller numbers coming and going throughout the day. In the lower quarry area there may be more migrant birds in the scrub-filled lower dell, or passing seabirds at the seawatch point. We can hope for skuas and shearwaters mixing with more numerous Kittiwakes, auks and Gannets offshore and we shall learn about Berry Head’s fascinating geological history and see evidence of its beginnings, 400 million years ago!

Autumn and Winter:

In autumn and winter, we will start our day at nearby Broadsands Bay, visiting a feeding station Mike created in 2003 to help the important Cirl Bunting population here. We can expect close views and photographic opportunities of this attractive bunting.
The mild English Riviera winter climate and Tor Bay's east-facing aspect make the area a perfect wintering place for sheltering seabirds along the beaches and coves. Mike will guide you around the very best autumn and winter birding sites in Tor Bay. The day will offer many good bird photographic opportunities including the Cirl Buntings, Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers. The remnant coastal marshes are protected from the worst of the UK’s winter weather allowing chiffchaffs and crests to find insects throughout the winter. Siberian Chiffchaff are a regular feature and most winters a Yellow-browed Warbler. We will likely take our boat trip out into Tor Bay in the afternoon, searching for divers, grebes, auks, Grey Seals and Harbour Porpoise. Being so sheltered, every winter the bay attracts Great-Northern, Red-throated and Black-throated Divers with Black-necked and Red-necked Grebes a regular occurrence along with Long-tailed Duck and Common Scoter. We will be able to get much closer to them by boat than watching from the shore.
Our lunch break may be spent seawatching while we eat before we visit Brixham Breakwater. The harbour can be good for early wintering divers and holds one of Torbay’s last wintering sites for Purple Sandpipers, which are usually accompanied by Turnstones and Rock Pipits. The working fishing port attracts many species of gull including Mediterranean Gull and sometimes Iceland Gull, and Grey Seals can also be seen. We will finish our day with a slow walk back up to Berry Head via the woodlands. These, mostly sycamore, woodlands are a favourite haunt for hungry warblers, tits and perhaps a late flycatcher. We may finish with a final look over at the Guillemot colony as birds will be coming back to roost during the late afternoon before heading back to the car park and toilets. The total walking distance will be around 4 miles on good paths and roads which can be steep in places but we have plenty of time to cover them!