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      male ring ouzels are particularly distinctive with their black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band.

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  • Darts Farm

Darts Farm

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Address
RSPB Darts Farm, Topsham Rd, Exeter EX3
Grid ref
SX977883

Located on the outskirts of Exeter, Darts Farm is home to a large variety of wildlife. These include flocks of linnets, fieldfares and redwings during the winter, dragonflies, skylarks and kingfishers in summer. There's also a popular shop and tearoom here, part of a larger shopping complex.

Plan your visit

Opening times

Open Monday to Saturday, 9am - 5.30pm, and on Sundays, 10am - 4.30pm.

Entrance charges

Free entrance to RSPB members
Yes
Adults
Free
Children
Free

Facilities

  • Visitor centre
  • Car park
  • Toilets
  • Accessible toilets
  • Baby changing
  • Pushchair friendly
  • Cafe
  • Binocular hire
  • Guided walks
  • Nature trails
  • Shop

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

Topsham. 20-minute walk, following signs to Exmouth.

By bus

The number 57 Exeter to Exmouth bus stops opposite Darts Farm.

By bike

Cycle Path Exeter to Topsham continues to Darts Farm.

By road

From M5 Motorway: Leave motorway at Junction 30 and follow signs to Exmouth. Once on the dual carriageway, 'Darts Farm Shopping Village' is signposted on a tourist brown sign. Go past the first entrance and enter the car park in through the second. The RSPB Shop is above the Cotswold Outdoor shop.

Sat nav POI file: If you have a satellite navigation system that can accept POI files, please see our POI page for a download link and instructions.

Get directions from Google Maps
RSPB reserves on Google Earth

What will the weather be like?

16 degrees, Cloudy

Contact Darts Farm

  • RSPB Darts Farm, Topsham Rd, Exeter EX3
  • 01392 879438

What will you see?

Our star species

    Dark-bellied brent goose

    Brent goose

    Flocks of brent geese come to feed on the fields and saltmarsh from October and stay until spring.

    Buzzard

    Buzzard

    The buzzard is now the UK's most numerous bird of prey.

    House sparrow adult male

    House sparrow

    Watch our local house sparrows from our Darts Farm shop.

    Little Egret

    Little egret

    These dainty little white herons can be seen throughout the year at Darts Farm.

    Adult pied wagtail

    Pied wagtail

    Pied wagtails are charming little birds, with black, grey and white feathers and a long tail.

Seasonal highlights

  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Autumn
  • Winter

On the farm and ponds you'll see skylarks, fieldfares, linnets, goldfinches, greenfinches and chaffinches, mute swans, great spotted woodpeckers, sand martins, chiffchaffs, buzzards, swallows, kestrels, peregrines, sparrowhawks and kingfishers.

Around the farm and ponds, look for reed warblers, reed buntings, great and blue tits, greenfinches, pied wagtails, skylarks, buzzards, moorhens, whitethroats, kingfishers, willow and sedge warblers. On the wetlands, you might see lapwings and Canada geese.

Keep an eye out for buzzards, hobbies, wheatears, tits and finches, meadow pipits, stonechats, little grebes, brent geese and common sandpiper on the farmland and pond. Wigeons, teals, snipe, curlews, barnacle geese and green sandpipers feed in the wetlands.

Around the farm and ponds, you'll see flocks of finches, tits, fieldfares, song thrushes, blackbirds and redwings. Watch the wetlands for brent and Canada geese, teals, wigeons, black-tailed godwits, snipe, curlews and lapwings.

About Darts Farm

Habitat

On the outskirts of Exeter, Darts Farm is home to a large variety of birds, insects and other wildlife. Our shop here is part of a large shopping complex in beautiful farmland, with ponds and wetland areas.

Conservation

Our shop at Darts Farm overlooks the Clyst Valley towards RSPB Goosemoor, where we have recreated valuable saltmarsh and mudflat for waterbirds. 

Just beyond lies RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, which we manage as a vital roosting place for waterbirds such as avocets and black-tailed godwits around high tide.

Site information

On the outskirts of Exeter, Darts Farm is situated on farmland but surrounded by wetlands.

Latest forum posts

  • RSPB Avocet mini Cruise this seasons last but one of the best!

    Today was the last mini cruise of the season and what a treat it was for our visitors... Weather was fantastic with bright sunshine and light winds. Plenty of birds on show today, with up to 16 Red Breasted Mergansers, 200+ Brent Geese flying onto th...

    Posted 23/02/2016 by Derek C
  • ID waders

    Not sure what these birds are down at the Exe estuary just after high tide on Friday. The bigger birds may be Redshanks, they did have red legs. But what are the smaller waders? Dunlins? And we saw the Avocets, no problem with ID! Peter

    Posted 08/12/2015 by PeterC-386654180
  • Press release on disturbance issues affecting Brent Geese and Wildfowl

    If you see it report it to Gavin Bloomfield our conservation officer.... Wildlife experts are appealing to the public to take care around the estuaries of the Westcountry this autumn after a number of incidents in which migratory wildfowl were distur...

    Posted 28/10/2015 by Derek C
  • Photos

    I don't seem to be able to post photos on the site now, is there a problem with the web site? Suggestions welcome.

    Posted 13/12/2014 by Steve Elcoate
read our forum

Latest blog posts

  • Helens Blog

    This week we’ve been to Labrador bay cutting along the public footpaths and listening to the distinctive call of cirl buntings which are a charming relative of the yellow hammer. Male birds have a distinctive black facial mask and bright yellow chest...

    Posted 04/09/2017 by Tom P
  • August on the Exe Estuary and my first two weeks!

    Hello from sunny Exminster marshes! Nick Patel here, Exe estuary RSPB's newest residential :) Just coming to the end of my second week here on the marshes and it’s been a great introduction to the reserves so far. Looking forward to spending the comi...

    Posted 18/08/2017 by Peter Otley
  • Summer on the EXE!!! (Part 2)

    Hello everyone!!! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. As some of our visitors might have realized, we’ve fenced some of the WW2 structures inside our reserve. We had some maintenance work around them which disturbed the soil; until the grass re...

    Posted 14/08/2017 by Saul A
  • Summer on the Exe

    Hello everyone, Apologies for the lack of updates on the blog - we've been spending a lot of time out on the reserves and I’ve forgotten how this technology stuff works! Where to start?? Our wildlife at this time of year run a very active schedule an...

    Posted 30/06/2017 by Eilidh S
read our blog

Activities and events

Events

  • May
  • July
Thursday 3 May
Beginners Birdwatching Course 2018
Devon
Saturday 5 May
Beginners Birdwatching Course 2018
Devon
Thursday 10 May
Beginners Birdwatching Course 2018
Devon
Thursday 17 May
Beginners Birdwatching Course 2018
Devon
Thursday 24 May
Beginners Birdwatching Course 2018
Devon
Monday 23 July
Beginner's Wildlife Walk from Darts Farm
Devon
More events

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Bowling Green Marshes RSPB Reserve

Bowling Green and Goosemoor

An ideal spot to watch birds up close throughout the year, from black-tailed godwits in spring to brent geese in winter.
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