Nature Of Britain

With its dense reed beds, abundant foliage and wide lakes, Westhay Moor is an unusual place, almost a hybrid of land and sea.

The 250 acre reserve is one of 80 sites managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The Trust acquired the site in segments, commencing in 1970. At that time its landscape had been severely damaged by industrial peat cutting and agriculture.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Westhay is the annual arrival of up 8 million starlings who take refuge in its reed beds.

This spectacle is proving increasingly popular with visitors; a slightly mixed blessing as the site has limited parking and the Trust is currently considering the most efficient way to accommodate this annual influx of human and avian life.

Mark Blake of Somerset Wildlife Trust

The Trust's Peat Moors Reserve officer Mark Blake is responsible for the maintenance of Westhay Moor, working alongside a team of volunteers and a small collective of goats and horses - property of local graziers - who help to keep the plant life in check.

Resident species include otters, dragonflies and carnivorous sundew plants - a red, moss-like growth which is capable of dissolving hapless insects.

More detailed information about Westhay Moor and other Somerset nature reserves can be found on the Wildlife Trust's website (see link on the right of this page).