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South Devon - Winter Wildlife in Tor Bay including Boat Trip (Day Trip)
Tour Code: GBR189An exciting day exploring Tor Bay by foot and boat in search of wintering birds and cetaceans.
£95 (land only)
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
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. Local resident, and experienced birdwatcher, Mike Langman will guide you around the very best winter birding sites in Tor Bay, including the Cirl Bunting feeding station he started in 2003. The day will offer many excellent 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 cold season. Siberian Chiffchaff are a regular feature, and possibly Yellow-browed Warblers too.
Given the normally favourable weather conditions, the day will also include a boat trip of approximately 2 hours around Torbay, exploring the secluded coves and Berry Head searching for divers, grebes, auks, sea ducks, Grey Seals and Harbour Porpoise. On foot, the terrain is mostly flat and you can expect to walk around 4 miles with regular stops. There will be limited travelling by car between Broadsands and Brixham car parks. It is set to be a very varied and exciting day, with a superb range of species possible as we explore and watch wildlife from both land and sea!
This day trip is often carefully planned to be able to run back-to-back with our Wildlife Cruise on the River Dart day trip.
- Visit Cirl Bunting feeding station
- Chartered boat trip into Tor Bay to get close to the wildlife
- Excellent photographic opportunities
- Harbour Porpoise and Common Dolphin possible
- Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone close up
- Great Northern Diver, Black-necked and Red-necked Grebe possible
- Siberian Chiffchaff and Yellow-browed Warbler possible
- Spectacular views from Berry Head
Details on the boat trip: The trip will last for 2 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 wintering birds including Great Northern, Black and Red-throated Divers, Great Crested, Black-necked, Slavonian and even Red-Necked Grebes. Common Scoter and sometimes Velvet Scoter may be found, while Guillemot and Razorbill often shelter here too. 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 E or NE which is rare here. Given its E facing aspect, Tor Bay is most often very sheltered and why 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 land.
Dates & Prices
2021
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