Tarka Trail
Wildlife on the Tarka Trail
Along the Tarka Trail there are many valuable habitats beside the cycle track which are managed by the North Devon AONB and Biosphere Service including oak woodland, hazel coppice, hedges, ponds, streams, ditches, meadows, culm grasslands and community orchards.
Volunteers planting a community orchard
All these habitats need management whether it is cutting coppice, clearing out ponds, laying hedges or mowing meadows.Frequently volunteer groups are involved with these tasks.
The hazel coppice beside the trail offers an ideal habitat for dormice, small areas of hazel have been coppiced (cut back to ground level) to encourage new strong re-growth which will produce good quantities of hazel nuts.
Hazelnuts | |
| Coppicing on the Tarka Trail |
Dormice boxes have been erected to offer suitable nesting site and there is a dormouse monitoring programme.
Dormouse | The cuttings at Fremington are cut once a year (like a hay meadow) which helps the many species of wildflowers that grow here.
Primroses at Fremington |
