Wildlife along the Exeter Ship Canal

Exeter Canal below Countess Wear. © Derek Harper - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

The Riverside Valley Park is home to kingfishers, herons, shelduck and dragonflies, amongst other wildlife, especially birdlife. The Canal too sees the likes of the Orange Tip Butterfly, slow worms and otters, which are a more common site in Devon than most other UK counties.

It was in the Exeter Ship canal where, in 1929, the very rare Amazonian Freshwater Jellyfish was first spotted living outdoors in the whole of Europe.