Simmons Park in Okehampton has become a wildlife haven with reports of a wide range of wildlife visiting the area to the delight of park staff.

The well-timed announcement from park keeper James McGahey follows on from the park’s involvement in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch which took place over the weekend (January 27-29).

Mr McGahey said: ‘We have seen marsh tits, goldfinches, siskins [a type of finch], otters and goosanders — a fish-eating duck — and the frogs are spawning all their eggs in the pond. We’ve also seen some otters.

‘We have put in quite a lot of work to make the pond more wildlife-friendly so it’s nice to see, especially the otters which has been a bit different - every day is different in the park.’

Mr McGahey and his staff are continuing to encourage wildlife to the area and plan to install owl boxes over the summer and bat boxes next year as staff have discovered that at least two species of bat have made the park their home.

This comes as the town council continues to discuss making the town as a whole more nature-friendly and it has already arranged for wildflowers to be planted in several areas of the town.

Currently, the council’s parks committee is considering the sorts of wildflowers that might be planted on the verge by Westbridge.

The Big Garden Birdwatch is an annual event organised by the RSPB which encourages people across the UK to spend an hour watching and recording the birds that visit the garden or public space.

Participants are then asked to send in their survey results so that the RSPB can monitor British wild bird species and the effect that climate change is having on them.

This year, participants have until February 19 to send in their results.

The RSPB estimates that in the last 50 years more than 38 million birds have been lost with more and more species put on the UK Birds of Conservation Concern Red List - a list of the UK bird species which are suffering a huge decline in numbers and need the most urgent help to continue to survive successfully in the wild.

The list includes well-known birds such as the marsh tit, starling, house sparrow, nightingale and skylark along with some lesser-known species like the chough, capercaillie and red-necked grebe.

Simmons Park was established in the early twentieth century when Okehampton benefactor Sidney Simmons bought a parcel of land beside the East Okement River for the enjoyment of the town’s residents.

Mr Simmons organised the landscaping of the park and it was opened on July 8, 1907.