The wildlife
The wildlife within our fishery is truly amazing, due to the lakes being within a very large private woodland estate there is no hunting or disturbances for the creatures that live here.
The lakes themselves have an immense amount of insect, amphibian and fish diversity. We have smooth and palmate newts, Frogs and Toads, grass snakes, many kinds of fish and wide spectrum of insects especially the Dragonflies and Damselflies. Our favourite is the emerald Dameselle and the rare Black and Gold dragonfly. Some live in the lakes, others come from the crystal clear stream that borders the whole of the east side through the wild wood.
The Red deer are frequent visitors but the Roe deer are residents in the wood and can easily be seen most days. The foxes have become very brave, walking across the meadows and hunting mice in the long grass. We have stopped cutting most of the grass areas to allow the wild flowers and rodents to flourish. This in turns now attracts Barn owls and Tawny owls to hunt around dusk and dawn.
The extensive tree hedges have a variety of species our favourites being the Blackthorn for the sloe Gin and Crab-apple for the delicious jelly we make every year. The main trees are Silver Birch, Beech, Oak, Ash, Willow and Hazel. These again attract many different bird species including Sparrow Hawks, Buzzards, Ravens (from the quarry nearby) Gold crest, Goldfinches, Bull finches, Many kinds of Tits, Heron, Goosanders, and of course our very own Canada Geese.
We do have an occasional visit from the Otters who swim up the stream from the River Torridge but these also kill and drive off the occasional Mink that turn up. On the whole we are not plagued by these animals and it always a pleasure to the natural fauna of the countryside so close.
The stream also boasts a variety of unique wildlife. The summer brings small crayfish, minnows, millers Thumbs, Eels and small sea trout and trout. During the spates in late Autumn, one can sometimes see the occasional Salmon and Sea trout spawning in the gravel redds. The lakes are about as high as they can travel up the stream from the Torridge and there are several ideal redds for them to spawn.
If you are a wildlife enthusiast then this is the ideal venue to study and appreciate Britain's beautiful and fragile creatures.
Below are some of the creatures we have seen on a regular basis at the lakes.......
