More about Decoy - wildlife, history and management

Wildlife
There are 6 principal habitats in the Country Park: woodland, lakes, ponds, streams, heath and fen. The area is so valuable for wildlife that much of it is designated as a County Wildlife Site and part is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Woodland: The largest woodland area contains birch and hazel, with oak, holly and rowan. There are many badger setts and some fox earths found within the woodland. Buzzards, ravens, crows, jays and woodpeckers are often seen here as well as smaller woodland birds such as warblers, finches and robins. The woodland floor also supports a range of deadwood and tree-living invertebrates, which are an important food source for several of these birds. In the wetter part of the woodland around the lake, alder, willow, birch, oak, dogwood and spindle are common.

Decoy Lake: Because Decoy is a wetland site with ponds, streams and a species-rich fen close by, an interesting range of vegetation established when the pit filled with water. Due to its depth, and steeply sloping sides, aquatic plants are limited to the shallower edges. As well as a number of native fish species, many newts, common frogs, toads and dragonflies breed in the lake and its associated ponds. The Lake has a large population of breeding mallards, coots and moorhens. Mute swans and Canada geese often breed there and in the winter months up to 250 of these geese may roost on the water. Cormorants and kingfishers are sometimes seen there, visiting to fish.

Magazine Pond: This large pond is quite shallow - ranging between 1 and 2 metres deep. It is rich in wildlife providing a relatively quiet area of water that has been set aside for wildlife conservation.

Streams: The leat, which was built around the working area when Decoy was a quarry, is edged by a good variety of ferns and liverworts and its gravelly bed harbours vast numbers of freshwater shrimps.

Wolborough Fen: Wolborough Fen is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is a unique, raised, reed-covered peat dome, with base-rich fen, acid bog and wet, carr woodland. Although only about 8 hectares, 176 species of flowering plants have been recorded, as well as a wide range of ferns, mosses and liverworts. Many interesting invertebrates have also been recorded here.

Heath: It is possible that in the past, some of the higher woodland areas and Wolborough Fen were grazed by farm animals and that this encouraged a heathy vegetation - unconnected fragments of which remain. The resulting lowland heath is comparatively rare in this part of Devon.


Historical Interest
The name Decoy is old and probably originates from an earlier lake, where ducks were lured into a 'decoy', caught and killed for food. In the late 19th Century the ball clay industry was growing fast and deposits were found at Decoy. The clay was quarried, taken to Newton Town Quay and loaded onto barges. The area was both quarried and mined for ball clay from 1850 until 1965. When quarrying ceased the pit quickly filled with water and the bare clay surrounding much of it slowly became vegetated again. The Country Park was first created in 1988 and the Fen was designated a SSSI in 1990.

Management
Our overall aim is to manage Decoy Country Park for, and with the involvement of, local people, ensuring that it has diverse and thriving wildlife, opportunities for quiet recreation and the facilities for appropriate sports use.

The main objectives are:

* to make access within the Park as safe and easy as is reasonably possible
* to protect wildlife and encourage nature conservation
* to promote the use of the country park for education and recreation
* to minimise potential conflicts between users
* to protect and interpret Decoy's heritage