Lizard Guide

Where can Iwatch wild
choughs in Cornwall?
July and August is afantastic time of
year to see choughs in Cornwall as
there are several family groups roaming
the cliffs of the Lizard peninsulas.
Here are some top tips of where to go
chough spotting.
·Awalk between Southerly Point at the
tip of the Lizard peninsula to Kynance
Cove is agood start. If you don’t feel
like walking, you can always drive to
Kynance along the toll road (parking
fee at the car park for non National
Trust members).
·Ifyou want alonger walk and to make
aday of it why not go all the way to
Mullion, keep to the coastal fringe
and listen out for the choughs as you
walk past Soap Cove, Vellan Head and
Predannack cliffs. If you then walk up
into Mullion village you can get abus
back to Lizard village.
·There are lots of short circular walks
that you can make, leaving from
Lizard village, that take you past good
chough watching spots.
Returnofthe redsquirrel
Have you seen any red squirrels on
the Lizard? No? In fact, the last
sighting of ared squirrel anywhere
in Cornwall was nearly 30 years
ago. Sadly,although they are one of
the most loved and iconic of British
mammals, the long-term survival of
our native squirrel remains under
severe threat.
Yetthere is hope, and that is where
the Lizard comes in. Due to its special
peninsula geography, this area has been
selected as akey site for an exciting
new approach which hopes to enable red
squirrels to thrive in the area once again.
Led by the Cornwall Red Squirrel Project
(CRSP), which commenced activities in
2009, the aim is to release captive-bred
red squirrels back onto The Lizard. If
successful, this ground-breaking project
will mark the first mainland re-introduction
scheme in England. But in order to work,
the team first needs to address the
problems that led to the decline of red
squirrels in the first place.
The biggest threat to our native red
squirrels are the invasive American grey
squirrels and the devastating squirrel
pox virus they spread (the grey carriers
are immune). Helpfully, grey squirrels are
already the subject of significant control
operations on the Lizard, because of the
damage they cause to woodland, eating
bark and ultimately killing the trees they
attack. The CRSP is busy joining up the
existing efforts, and getting other land
owners onthe peninsula to fill in the gaps,
to rid the peninsula of invasive greys once
and for all.
Once grey-free, the native reds can at
long last be released back into the Lizard.
They will be protected from future invasions
by a“buffer zone” across the narrow top
of the peninsula, which greys will not be
allowed to cross. If you would like tohelp
to bring back the bushy red-tails, you can
become amember of the Cornwall Red
Squirrel Project by visiting their website at
www.cornwallredsquirrels.co.uk.
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