Since it opened this spring, the National Trust Wildlife Watchpoint at Lizard Point has welcomed over 11,000 visitors thanks to a dedicated band of more than 20 volunteers.
Sighted at Britain’s most southerly point, against a stunning backdrop, the Wildlife Watchpoint is a fantastic place to get closer to nature and see wild Cornish choughs, thousands of passing seabirds, Atlantic grey seals and other marine species including porpoise, dolphins and basking sharks.
As well as a wealth of marine life, the southerly tip of Britain also boasts one of the National Trust’s wildlife-friendly farms. Tregullas Farm, sensitively farmed by National Trust tenants Rona and Neville Amiss, supports an abundance of farmland birds, wildflowers and other wildlife.
Grazing on the cliffs and rich grassland by the Amiss’ cattle and sheep has helped with the continued success of Lizard Point’s resident chough population, regularly seen from the Wildlife Watchpoint. These wild choughs are regularly seen to-ing and fro-ing from the fields with bill-fulls of sheep wool and foraging for |insects and grubs amongst the close grazed fields.
The new watchpoint has been a huge success not only by inspiring over 11,000 visitors but also for developing an important new wildlife recording point in Cornwall. Working with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Seal Group, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and RSPB the Watchpoint volunteers have been recording wildlife sightings daily, contributing to a wider recording network to ensure our local and passing wildlife is well recorded for future monitoring.
So far this year they have recorded over 100 different species and submitted over 2,000 wildlife records from the watchpoint, not including our botanical records. To find out more about what’s been seen at the watchpoint visit http://www.lizardandpenrose.blogspot.co.uk/.
The National Trust relies entirely on volunteer help to keep the watchpoint open from April until mid September and it is always looking for enthusiastic people to join the team. You don’t need to |be an expert, you just need to |have a desire to know more about wildlife and a willingness to share your enthusiasm with visitors. |If you are interested email lizardrangers@nationaltrust.org.uk for more information.
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