The Wildlife Gallery - all of which
can be seen by the patient quiet observer, but usually
out of the busy season
(click and image to enlarge
it)
if you have a picture
at or of Sun Haven you would like our web developer
to post please mail it to SunHaven@sunhavenvalley.com |
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Gluvian Farm Barn Owl
The Barn owls breed in the
buildings of a nearby farm and are often seen at dawn
or dusk hunting for mice & voles both on our campsite
& in the neighbouring fields. We are told that because
they need a radius of some 5 miles in order be be
able to maintain their food supply in grazed farmland
it is unlikely that we will ever have a resident pair
in our owl-boxes but that might well be used for an
occasional nights roosting |
Kingfisher
They get seen often enough
that we know they come hunting the brown trout in
the stream - but we ourselves have only seen that
spectacular flash of blue just the once |
Our Heron
This fellow makes frequent
visits, firstly for a light appetiser of brown trout
from our stream & then onto the coarse fishing lakes
next door for his main course. Fortunately he hasn't
yet found our goldfish - but it might be that "Cedric",
our metal Heron who guards the pond, looks a little
more fearsome to another Heron than he does to us |
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Jays
These are a shy bird but are
often seen in the Noth West corner of the campsite.
There is a pair that regularly nest on the other side
of the river. |
Buzzards
During the camping season a
family of buzzards circle above the park in rising
thermals on an almost daily basis. Usually, their
mewing sound can be clearly heard - & often they
are mobbed by other birds trying to chase them away
- in the quieter times of the year they often sit
on the lamp posts & trees on our campsite |
Badgers
There are at least two badger
setts within a mile of the park, possibly as many
as 6, one of which is adjacent to a near public footpath.
Here one of our regular holidaymakers often waits
for them at dusk and gets good photographs. They are
often seen running along the local roads after the
sun has gone down and we know of at least two places
where they have ‘runs’ through the park – during the
winter & Autumn we have to spend some of our time
filling in the holes they have dug in our lawns to
find food. |
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Foxes
We have a transient population
– sometimes seen on the hill opposite & occasionally
on the camping field |
Pheasants & Partridges
Both in the park & fields
next door. The pheasants are usually here to eat our
grass seed though the partridge are usually hunting
the long grass for insects & seeds.. |
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Roe Deer
We are too far from Dartmoor
o see Red Deer but occasionally see Roe Deer. |
Moles
These are a shy bird but are
often seen in the Noth West corner of the campsite.
There is a pair that regularly nest on the other side
of the river. |
WHAT IS IT ?
it’s a “Humming Bird Hawk
Moth” seen by Neil Mitchell on our hanging baskets
in July 2008. They migrate between the Mediterranean
& the Northern UK. Flying by day, they like bright
sunlight & stop for flowers with a plentiful supply
of nectar such as petunias, honeysuckle and budliah.
It is said they have remarkable memories – so he/she
may well be back on July 6th !!. |
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Robin |
Great tits |
Gold finches |
Birds
All the usual ones you should
recognise from your own gardens – Robins, Blackbirds,
Blue Tits, chaffinches, |
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House Martins
The house martins nest both
under the eaves of the chalets & in our garage
loft – frequently seen flying around the park catching
insects. |
Moorhens
With the stream at the bottom
of the field we have Moorhens of course. We have at
least two pairs who can often be seen hunting for
worms & insects at dawn, dusk and when the park
is quiet. |
Rabbits
We only occasionally see them
on site and your best chance to see them is at each
end of the day on the footpatsh to Mawgan Porth Beach
or into St Mawgan. |
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Brown Trout
We certainly have some in the
river – but not many and only about 6 inches long.
(We do ask you not to fish for them). Usually you’ll
see them dart for cover in the clear water as your
shadow falls across the water. |
Woodpecker
Normally quite shy the “Greater
Spotted Woodpecker” spends most of it’s time clinging
to the sides of trees trying to hide itself – but
is a frequent winter visitor to the bird feeders we
have hanging near reception. |
Minnows |
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Damsel files
There are some 20 species of
Damsel Fly in the UK – what we have we haven’t identified
– but they are very pretty. |
Otters
Are there Otters in the river
?
We’ve never had direct sightings on the park but there
have been sightings in the River Menathyl in the next
valley across ( into which our stream runs) &
the Cornwall Wildlife Trusts Environmental Consultants
tell us that there are Otters in nearly all the rivers
in Cornwall. If you want to be sure to see them then
of course Tamar Otter Sanctuary would welcome you,
they also keep a large family in a very nice enclosure
at Newquay Zoo & the National Seal Sanctuary at
Gweek have some. |
Seals
Cornwall have colonies of Grey
Seals and they can frequently be seen bobbing in the
sea at various points. Newquay harbour has several
residents & If you at lunch on the terrace at
“The Fort inn” in Newquay you will often get to see
appealing for fish from returning boats. see http://www.newquay
harbourseals.co.uk
– Of course the National Seal Sanctuary has a selection
held in captivity – either recovering from injury
or too disabled to ever be returned to the wild. |
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Dolphins
Dolphins are visitors to the
Cornish coast and a often seen outside Newquay harbour
– see
http://www.newquayharbourseals
.co.uk/
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Kestrals
Often seen hover over surrounding fields |
Bats
Bats - Well if you slowed them down 20-50 times this
is what you might see - but in reality you’ll have
to pay attention even to see the flickering blur of
a bat catching insects in the dusk.
We see bats on warm evenings, but as yet do not
know which sort. Of the 16 species of bat found
in the UK, 12 have been recorded in Cornwall. -
but if there is a bat associated with Cornwall,
it is be the Greater Horseshoe which can be found
roosting within the honey comb of redundant tin
mines and old farm buildings.
We have erected bat boxes & although we do
not know if they are used we cannot check as they
become legally protected as soon as they are used.
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Sparrowhawks
Our resident sparrowhawks frequently
hunt over the park & visitors have seen them both
catching & eating small song-birds on various
parts of the park |
Field mice
Very cute – but very shy you are unlikely to see these
as they will retire to heavy cover when there is human
activity. They are active little things & to watch
them climb a smooth steel rod to reach a bird feeder
full of peanuts is an entertaining sequence. |
Peregrine Falcon
Just off the Cornish cliffs they’re occasional presence
should be no surprise. Whilst our bird-identification
skills are probably not good enough to identify this
once-endangered species but we have had 3 reported
sightings. |
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Bugs
Copied from www.Buglife.org
The small things that make the world go round
Bugs.
Not everybody loves them, we admit.
But before you reach for the slug pellets or the
fly swatter, here are a few facts that might make
you change your mind:
• One in three mouthfuls of our food depends upon
insect pollination (strawberries, apples)
• Honey, chocolate, coffee, silk - just some of
the luxuries that wouldn't exist without invertebrates
• Ninety percent of wildflowers could be threatened
with extinction if there were not invertebrates
to pollinate them
• Bugs are a vital food source for wild animals
and birds - our countryside would be an empty, silent
place without them
So it's no exaggeration to say that they make the
world go round.
Everyone needs somewhere to live, including bugs.
In fact, invertebrates are happy to live in many
places we would steer clear of, including brackish
(salty) ditches, dead fungus and rotten wood. In
each habitat they carry out a number of functions
which help to maintain a healthy environment, from
recycling decaying matter such as wood and vegetation,
to enhancing soil fertility and helping keep rivers
clean.
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The Herring Gull
The ones we gretfully DON’T want to see on the park.
The most frequent gull in Cornwall they are a beautiful
sight & have a wonderful cry on the clifftops
– but in the town are known to “attack” to steal food
– most seafront councils & shop-owners regard
them as a serious nuisance. By all means enjoy them,
they are part of Cornwall, but please do not leave
food out or scatter food scraps/waste about as the
Herring Gulls become a serious nuisance. |
Guinea Fowl
We are of course cheating here – but the organic farm
next door keeps them ( well keeps them for as long
as the fox doesn’t get them) – but you may well get
them chattering at your front door for scraps.
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Woodpigeons
Nothing special here – but
they are quite numerous & their calls around the
campsite are part of the park. |
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Mallard duck
OK – so who hasn’t got them – but we are cheating
again. Our main visitors are the wild duck from the
fishing lakes next door, who often breed along the
riverbank, but the more interesting ones come from
the Organic farm next door. Their preferred mode of
transport is to walk in single file with the guinea
fowl following behind - you may well have to stop
outside our gate when they cross the road to do their
daily rounds cleaning up for us. |
If you see these you’re not
hallucinating, they are the escapees from our aviairy…………
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…….and these from our animal run |
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