Wildlife watching attracts over 24,000 people to The Lizard Point in Cornwall, but what is there to see?

Lizard Point – photo Barry Batchelor

Located at the most southerly point of mainland Britain, against sea sculpted cliffs carpeted in rare and exotic flowers, The Lizard Point, in Cornwall is a great place to spoil yourself with top notch wildlife watching within a stone’s throw of a cream tea or ice cream and an eclectic mix of gift shops.

Whether you’re a keen birder happy to watch thousands of special seabirds on migration or you’re relatively new to wildlife and you’d enjoying watching the local seals swimming, feeding, hauled out or ‘bottling’* nearby, there’s something for everyone at Lizard Point. 

(*’bottling’ is when a seal rests vertically in the water with just their head poking out from the surface of the sea).


WHAT COULD YOU SEE

Seal pup Keeley 2014 - photo Terry Thirlaway

From April to September every year, an enthusiastic team of weather proof volunteers are on hand at the National Trust wildlife watchpoint to give you great views of wildlife through binoculars and telescopes, and it’s absolutely FREE. 

This year we’ve welcomed over 24,000 visitors giving them great views of things like:
basking sharks
grey seals
dolphins
porpoise
whales
tuna
barrel jellyfish

Lizard choughs 2015 - photo Terry Thirlaway

wild Cornish choughs
razorbills
guillemots
puffins
shearwaters
skuas
the resident gulls….and much more.

RECORDED SIGHTINGS
As well as getting over 24,000 people closer to nature, the wildlife watchpoint also works with the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust , Cornwall Wildlife Trust , RSPB  and the BTO to submit wildlife data to national recording programmes. 

Basking Shark - photo Green Fire Productions* 

This year the team of 30 watchpoint volunteers, collected over 3600 wildlife records from 132 different species seen from the watchpoint, and this doesn’t even include the local plant life! Unfortunately not all of our data is accessible online yet, but you can see a full-list of the bird’s that have been seen from Lizard Point on the Bird Track website. Click here and search for grid ref: SW 7011

AMAZING DISCOVERY
For a fantastic story of discovery about a rescued seal who had her pup on the Lizard click here

VISIT 
We’re open daily from 10am – 4pm, from April to mid-September (weather permitting) | TR12 7NU. 


GET INVOLVED

We are always looking for enthusiastic people to join the team. You don’t need to be an expert, you just need to be friendly and have an interest in wildlife. If that sounds like you, and you’d like to get involved please get in touch: lizardrangers@nationaltrust.org.uk 

Lizard Wildlife Watchpoint 2014 - photo Shannon O'Grady

‘It’s great that we have the chance to talk to so many people about wildlife. What really inspires me is the joy that so many people get from seeing a seal, a basking shark or a chough in real life for the first time….sharing the amazement and the excitement of folks most treasured wildlife experiences never gets old. I love it and always will!’ 

– Michael, watchpoint volunteer


- Cat 

* Basking Shark - photo Green Fire Productions [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons