Its primary location on the Peat Moors, which is more than 100 hectares in size and internationally renowned as a refuge for birdwatchers, in particular, is managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust.
In three miles northwest of Glastonbury, restored peat diggings have been turned into an open water network, reed bed, and the biggest remaining section of lowland acid mire within the South-West.
Westhay Moor, which has been designated as a National Nature Reserve, was a pioneering initiative undertaken by Somerset Wildlife Trust in the early 1980s. Since its rehabilitation, the site has gained national recognition as one of the best bird-watching destinations in the United Kingdom, and it has appeared in several films, notably the BBC’s Springwatch and Autumnwatch series.
Some of Westhay’s most popular birdwatching destinations begin to appear in the autumn and remain until January/February; hundreds of thousands of starlings flood the sky as they make their way to rest among the reeds each afternoon.
