Dartmoor Species of the Month – January

Dartmoor, due to its climate and range of habitats, has a great diversity of species as well as some very rare plants and animals.

The Dartmoor National Park Authority is working to protect Dartmoor’s biodiversity. Biodiversity is the diversity of life on Earth, including every plant, animal and micro-organism.

Every month highlights another spectacular species that can be seen on Dartmoor.

Woodcock and snipe

When and where to see them
Woodcock breed in the far North and come to Dartmoor in the winter months. They are fairly well spread across Dartmoor. Your best chance of seeing a woodcock is by accidentally disturbing one along a woodland ride or path. Snipe can be found on Dartmoor all year round: they breed on Dartmoor’s upland mires. In winter, they move into the wet fields on the lower ground and you may see them feeding on pastures and meadows.

Why are they so special to Dartmoor?
Snipe breed on Dartmoor in nationally significant numbers; in fact, Dartmoor has Southern England’s largest breeding snipe population with close to 200 pairs. The well connected semi-natural habitat on Dartmoor, with its fairly low-intensity agriculture means that the meadows and pastures support good quantities of soil invertebrates which both species require to get through the winter.

More information
You can obtain more information about woodcock and snipe by getting in touch with the Ecology Team of the Dartmoor National Park Authority. For more information on what the Dartmoor National Park Authority and Partners do to help woodcock and snipe please look at the publication ‘The Nature of Dartmoor’, or ‘Action for Wildlife’ –look for the Moorland Action Plan.   (829Kb - PDF Help)

We are also carrying out a special project to help Dartmoor’s Waders – take a look at Operation Wader.

Have a look at our programme of guided walks and audio walks too!