A NEW moorland bird report and pocket guide has been launched for farmers and nature lovers on Exmoor.

The guide has been produced by Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) after an extensive survey of all of Exmoor’s 42,000 acres of moorland.

The survey was supported by partners including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) during the breeding season of last spring and summer.

The full results have now been collated and released, along with a complete bird map for moorland landowners and a free pocket guide for enthusiasts which can be picked up at any of Exmoor’s three national park centres.

The guide provides valuable information for farmers applying for new support schemes, and also contributes to Natural England’s Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) condition monitoring.

ENPA senior conservation officer Ali Hawkins said: “We were excited to lead the moorland breeding survey and it is an essential baseline for landscape scale projects across Exmoor moorland.

“Exmoor’s moorland provides vital habitats for the upland and farmland birds that have suffered considerable declines in other parts of the UK.

“There has been some fantastic work carried out by our brilliant moorland bird survey team led by Juan Castello, who were out every day before dawn, tirelessly surveying every corner of moorland on Exmoor.

“They recorded over 35,000 birds and over 9,000 environmental variables, providing us with useful habitat data to create an invaluable picture of how our moorland birds are faring and the state of the moorland itself.

“We would particularly like to thank landowners who have been working with our rangers on access for survey work to take place.”

The survey showed some species losses on Exmoor, and some ‘real winners’ particularly in restored peatlands which remained a stronghold for important species such as grasshopper warbler, reed bunting, and snipe.