Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve

It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest[1][2] and part of it is a local nature reserve.

[3][4] The Dawlish Warren nature reserve provides a major roosting site for wading birds and migratory waterfowl, and serves as a habitat for the endangered petalwort (Petalophyllum ralfsii), a liverwort.

A large number of rare vagrant birds have been recorded at Dawlish Warren, including elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans), lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis), long-billed murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix), greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii), semipalmated plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), cream-coloured courser (Cursorius cursor) and great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius).

A rare dune grassland habitat can also be found in the nature reserve, and as a result is a candidate Special Area of Conservation.

Despite the emplacement of considerable quantities of protective rock armour at its lower end, the warren has been subject to erosion by the sea for over a hundred years.