Bodmin Moor Flora & Fauna

Bodmin Moor is a home to Ravens, Ferns, Lichens and Mosses, Buzzards mewing overhead, beautiful yellow-flowered Gorse, stunted thorn trees, and a wonderful variety of birds, wild flowers, small mammals and livestock. The moor is a wild place and remains untamed, yet at the same time it is a sympathetically managed working landscape. On the open moorland there are marshes and mires, treacherous to the un-wary walker. Here rare plants flourish... Bog Orchids, Coral Necklace, Needle Spike-rush, and the insectivorous Sundews and Butterworts - patrolled by Lapwings and Snipe. Golden Plover and Curlew prefer the grazed grassland, and Skylarks flit amongst the grass tussocks.

On the moorland fringes, in the wooded river valleys and disused mine shafts, are Bat roosts, including the rare Lesser and Greater Horseshoe Bats. Both the De Lank and Fowey rivers are nationally important territories for Otters, and at Golitha Falls, National Nature Reserve, you might catch a glimpse of a Great

Spotted Woodpecker, a Grey Wagtail, or a beautiful Kingfisher. In these sheltered valleys, ancient woodland of predominantly Oak provides a habitat for rare Lichens, Liverworts, Mosses and Ferns.

Plants and Flowers

Bodmin Moor lies at an altitude of between 250 metres (800 feet) and 420 metres (1,300 feet), from the low marshes to the heights of Brown Willy. It is easily noticeable, even to the most unobservant visitor, that, apart from the modern conifer plantations, there are very few trees. Instead, the moor is populated rather

by shrubs and bushes, such as Gorse, Heather and the occasional wind battered Blackthorn.

The keen botanist will be kept busy searching out the flora on different parts of the moor. Midsummer on Bodmin Moor would not be the same without the white feathery tufts of Common Cotton Grass - the sight of the clumps of cotton grass waving in a breeze under a blue sky, beats any flower display!

Birds

There are many species of birds to be seen on Bodmin Moor, including of course many common to most other habitats. Many of the more unusual species should be able to be seen with little effort by the observant visitor, including many residents, passage migrants, and summer or winter visitors.

The buzzard is perhaps the most evocative bird seen on Bodmin Moor, and is indeed a common resident in western Britain; its plumage varies from dark brown to creamy white, and it is often seen soaring on broad wings, or on a perch out in the open. Among the many smaller birds to be seen are the little Meadow Pipit, which breeds and over-winters here and is always running around with its tail constantly wagging; and the pretty Wheatear, which is a summer migrant from Africa and often seen perching on vantage points such as boulders and old Cornish hedges. Bodmin Moor is the breeding stronghold for the Wheatear in Cornwall.

Animals and Livestock

There are many mammals to be found on Bodmin Moor, but not all of them are as obvious and easily spotted as others! There are many free-roaming animals that are a vital part of the working nature of the moor, including Sheep, Cattle and Ponies. All of these animals need respect, and care must always be taken when driving over the moorland lanes, where many animals will be seen grazing by the verge, or indeed walking along the road! To protect livestock, and nesting birds, dogs must always be kept on a lead between 1^st March and 31^st July (lambing time, and breeding time for ground nesting birds).

While some mammals have increased in numbers, such as the elusive Otter which is now common on Cornish rivers, casual sightings can be rare, but so rewarding if you are lucky enough. Roe Deer on the other hand are perhaps more easily spotted, often from afar walking along a tree line. Badgers are also common, particularly on and around the edge of the moor. They are nocturnal, and are omnivores, eating mainly earthworms, but also small mammals, insects, berries, fruit and other vegetation. Their large setts can be built over generations and sometimes contain over a kilometre of tunnels. Foxes, although primarily nocturnal, can also often be seen walking acroos the wilder areas of the moor.

Among the livestock you will see on Bodmin Moor are Ponies, Sheep and Cattle. Unlike Dartmoor, there are no specifically defined breeds of ponies on Bodmin Moor. Many of the ponies here are left out on the moor to fend for themselves, being rounded up in the autumn for the sales at the Hallworthy Livestock Market. The favoured sheep breeds on the moor used to be Cornwall Longwools and Dartmoors, but since the 1930s, Scottish Blackface and North Country Cheviots have become more common. Most of the cattle seen on the moor will be bred for beef. Since the 1950s, a number of hardy Scottish breeds have become a popular sight on the moor, including pure Highland cattle, with their distinctive horns, Galloways, and Blue Greys.

And, somewhere out on the moor, is the mythical Beast of Bodmin... or is it mythical? Sightings of Wild Cats, or "big cats", known locally as the 'Beast of Bodmin Moor', have been allegedly witnessed on and off over the last 20 years or so. The Panther, or perhaps the Puma, are possibly the rarest mammals ever sighted on the moor, and are definitely an introduced species. In the 1970s, after the introduction of the Wild Animals Act, it is believed several large cats were released into the wild. Bodmin Moor would have been a particularly suitable location, and there are many hidden corners where a large animal could live unnoticed for many years. However, very few of the possible sightings have ever been confirmed and reports over the last ten years have been minimal... but you never know!

For a more detailed introduction to the plants, birds and animals of Bodmin Moor, why not order our excellent new book "An Introduction to Bodmin Moor" by Mark Camp!