As well as salmon and seatrout, the River Lynher is rich in wildlife. We have the waterside bird life including the beautiful dipper with its white chest and amazing ability to dive and literally walk underwater, grey and pied wagtails, white egrets and herons. You might even see a kingfisher, with a piercing whistle and a flash of iridescent blue. In the evening Daubenton’s bats comb the water surface for insects. Various duck species can be spotted, coots and moorhens.  

Otters which were nearly extinct have made a tremendous come back and are common now, although rarely spotted during the middle of the day. They are shy and retiring but with patience late evening is a good time to see them. The otters have thankfully displaced the dreaded mink which used to do so much damage to ground nesting birds.  The viability of our otter population is of course dependent on their food source and the eel population in this country has decreased by 90% in just a few decades.  This is a dangerous situation and although the otters have come back they are still under threat.