Devon Bird Watching & Preservation Society

The Devon Bird Watching and Preservation Society was formed in 1928 and is a registered charity run by volunteers. The objectives of the Society are to ‘further the study of birds in the field and to assist in their conservation’, and in furtherance of these purposes to publish an annual bird report, to promote a wider interest in birds, habitats and their conservation, to promote the study of birds to cater for all levels of experience, to organise a programme of field and indoor meetings and to promote a continuing improvement in the submission, collation, publication and access to, ornithological records and studies. The society owns/leases a number of reserves throughout the county.

Members of the Society have been following the fortunes of breeding and migrant birds at Slapton Ley Nature Reserve by visual observation for many years. In addition, since 1960, there has been a programme of ringing birds to obtain more information that may be used for their conservation and protection and to assist in habitat management.  Data collected at Slapton is also passed to the British Trust for Ornithology to be included in the national records and used for national and international studies.

For example, Reed Warblers breed in the reed beds at Slapton.  They return each spring from their wintering area in West Africa to raise a brood, sometimes two, of usually four chicks over the summer before leaving again in the early autumn.  This amazing journey may be repeated over many years as some birds can live for up to 12 years.  The Slapton reed beds also provide food and shelter for birds that breed further north and pass through here on migration. Birds ringed at Slapton have been found in Belgium, France, Portugal, Morocco and West Africa, helping to build up a picture of the movements of this sturdy little bird which may help with its conservation.

If you wish to know more about the Devon Bird Watching and Preservation Society please contact: the Membership Secretary, PO Box17, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 1WF or the website info@devonbirds.org