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Swannacott Manor is a Cornish farm rich in wildlife. The farm has a vast range of habitats including broadleaved woodland, wet grassland, numerous streams and springs and thick woody hedges. Almost all the woodland surrounding the farm is within a Country Wildlife Site (CWS) which are areas of excellent wildlife habitat. The farm has some thick, tall hedges and numerous wildlife corridors.

Bird nest boxes have been erected within the woodland and a barn owl box in one of the old farm buildings.

Swannacott Manor has many miles of hedges providing an essential site for wildlife activity. According to the 1994 Cornwall Landscape Assessment the farm is classified as being anciently enclosed land. The hedges will therefore be medieval in origin, some maybe even older.

Small birds, insects, amphibians and mammals cross the wildlife corridors ("habitat links") on the farm such as green lanes, streams, valley bottoms and hedges. Bats in particular rely on continuous wildlife corridors to reach the best feeding areas.

The farm contains some beautiful woodland to the north of Swanacott Manor. The wood contains some excellent old oak trees, and included lots of hazel coppice, holly, sycamores etc.

Swannacott Manor

The wood also has lots of ground flora such as ferns. The broadleaved wood also acts as a buffer to the conifer plantation hiding it from view.

An orchard can be a really valuable habitat for a wide range of species from fungi and lichens, insects and other invertebrates, to birds and mammals (small and not so small). The fruit provides an obvious feeding source for insects and birds such as tits, nuthatches and fieldfares.

Swannacott Manor

Older trees on the farm have a very high wildlife value as invertebrates, micro-organisms and fungi live in the dead wood; some invertebrates can only survive in the pools in tree holes. Mature trees that are hollow are rarely in danger of falling (they are more flexible) and host bats, owls, insects and fungi.

Trees and shrubs support vigorous ivy growth which uses the tree stem as a purchase to reach the light. Ivy acts as a host to a wide variety of insects and offers ideal cover for birds such as Tawny Owl, thrushes and woodpeckers. Bats often use ivy-covered stems as roost sites and will feed on the huge number of pest insects close to crops. Ivy berries also provide a high energy source for birds such as fieldfare and redwing during winter.

Grassland becomes rich in wildflowers, such as orchids benefiting insect life, mammals and barn owls.

The land might be used by the rare marsh fritillary butterfly which is classified as a "priority" species under the Biodiversity Action plan.

Swannacott Manor has numerous tributaries and streams which eventually meet with the River Neat and feed into the sea at Bude.

The watercourses located within the woodland contain a variety of invertebrates, including Mayfly and Stonefly nymphs.

Under the Countryside Stewardship the fencing of the wetland habitat and restricting grazing to late summer is highly beneficial to insect life, small mammals and wetland birds. Fenced off wetland habitat acts as a natural "sponge", absorbing water in wet spells and releasing it slowly in dry spells. Therefore helping to keep the stream running and slowing the impact of flash floods.