{"id":5563,"date":"2026-06-20T10:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T09:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/?p=5563"},"modified":"2026-06-23T11:02:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:02:47","slug":"bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Bennett&#8217;s Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was good to welcome some visitors in the 14 strong group which met at the little car park near Warren House Inn on Dartmoor on a pleasant morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Walking down towards the valley we were thrilled to have good views of <strong>Whinchat<\/strong> flitting between some small trees. In the same area a <strong>Tree Pipit<\/strong> delighted us with his parachuting display flight. We also had a brief view of a <strong>Cuckoo<\/strong> in flight. An excursion into the forest at Soussons produced several species of the small birds which one might expect in this habitat, such as <strong>Coal Tits<\/strong> and <strong>Siskins<\/strong>. We could hear many more than we could see, as was particularly the case with <strong>Willow Warbler<\/strong> which we heard frequently during the walk but which proved elusive to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Surprisingly little was seen as we walked around Challacombe Down, but things livened up as we approached the farm. We stopped for lunch by the little pond where <strong>Swallows<\/strong> and <strong>House Martins<\/strong> were flying low over the water just in front of us. We were joined by some rather pretty hens, no doubt used to sharing some picnic goodies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interestingly, we noted that the House Martins were using both natural and artificial nests on the farmhouse, also that battens were affixed to the house wall to give support for the natural nests, thereby making them more secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we continued our walk from the farm a <strong>Raven<\/strong> gave a display of \u2018barrel rolling\u2019 above us. Again, more bird song than sightings until we neared Headland Warren when Abbie spotted a white arse! No, not human, but a <strong>Wheatear<\/strong>. As many of you will know, the old English name referred to the white rump, very noticeable in flight. Whilst having expected to see this species earlier, we now saw several feeding on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We headed uphill from Headland Warren, returning to the car park across moorland on a section of the Two Moors Way, accompanied by the songs of <strong>Skylark<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many thanks to Steve for leading this very enjoyable excursion, during which we saw or heard 38 species. Thanks also to Dave, who identified the butterflies, dragonflies, etc which we saw and to Jonathan for co-leading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pat Thomson<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6adfc15610d3b&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6adfc15610d3b\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Whinchat - Bennett&apos;s Cross\" class=\"wp-image-5564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Whinchat. Photo credit: Leo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">38<em>\u00a0species identified (H \u2013 heard only)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Swift, Cuckoo, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Raven, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Swallow, House Martin, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff (H), Blackcap, Goldcrest (H), Wren (H), Song Thrush (H), Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Whinchat, Stonechat, Wheatear, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Siskin.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was good to welcome some visitors in the 14 strong group which met at the little car park near Warren House Inn on Dartmoor on a pleasant morning. Walking down towards the valley we were thrilled to have good views of Whinchat flitting between some small trees. In the same area a Tree Pipit&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":460,"featured_media":5564,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[50,32,49],"class_list":["post-5563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trips","tag-farm-land","tag-walk","tag-woodlands"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bennett&#039;s Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026 - Exeter &amp; District Local Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A visit to Challacombe is always exciting, as so many different habitats are encountered making the area very biodiverse.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bennett&#039;s Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026 - Exeter &amp; District Local Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A visit to Challacombe is always exciting, as so many different habitats are encountered making the area very biodiverse.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Exeter &amp; District Local Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T09:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-23T10:02:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jonathanpearce\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jonathanpearce\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jonathanpearce\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c478369f000e05a14f47ec7fceb6f4ca\"},\"headline\":\"Bennett&#8217;s Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T09:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-23T10:02:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":439,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/81\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Farm land\",\"Walk\",\"Woodlands\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Trip reports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bennett's Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026 - Exeter & District Local Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/81\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T09:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-23T10:02:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"A visit to Challacombe is always exciting, as so many different habitats are encountered making the area very biodiverse.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/81\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/81\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920,\"caption\":\"Whinchat. Photo credit: Leo.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bennett&#8217;s Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/\",\"name\":\"Exeter & District Local Group\",\"description\":\"RSPB Groups\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RSPB\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/81\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/RSPB-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/81\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/RSPB-logo.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":559,\"caption\":\"RSPB\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c478369f000e05a14f47ec7fceb6f4ca\",\"name\":\"jonathanpearce\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ea019b837ef3147c37c8183f061e14eb0c40a9c6c26912fbbd0f1dce1f8e8577?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ea019b837ef3147c37c8183f061e14eb0c40a9c6c26912fbbd0f1dce1f8e8577?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ea019b837ef3147c37c8183f061e14eb0c40a9c6c26912fbbd0f1dce1f8e8577?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"jonathanpearce\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/group.rspb.org.uk\\\/exeter\\\/news-blogs\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/jonathanpearce\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bennett's Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026 - Exeter & District Local Group","description":"A visit to Challacombe is always exciting, as so many different habitats are encountered making the area very biodiverse.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bennett's Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026 - Exeter & District Local Group","og_description":"A visit to Challacombe is always exciting, as so many different habitats are encountered making the area very biodiverse.","og_url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/","og_site_name":"Exeter & District Local Group","article_published_time":"2026-06-20T09:00:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-23T10:02:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"jonathanpearce","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jonathanpearce","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/"},"author":{"name":"jonathanpearce","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#\/schema\/person\/c478369f000e05a14f47ec7fceb6f4ca"},"headline":"Bennett&#8217;s Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026","datePublished":"2026-06-20T09:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-23T10:02:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/"},"wordCount":439,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg","keywords":["Farm land","Walk","Woodlands"],"articleSection":["Trip reports"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/","url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/","name":"Bennett's Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026 - Exeter & District Local Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-20T09:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-23T10:02:47+00:00","description":"A visit to Challacombe is always exciting, as so many different habitats are encountered making the area very biodiverse.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/06\/Whinchat-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1920,"caption":"Whinchat. Photo credit: Leo."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/bennetts-cross-challacombe-2026-07-20\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bennett&#8217;s Cross to Challacombe, 20th June 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/","name":"Exeter & District Local Group","description":"RSPB Groups","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#organization","name":"RSPB","url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2021\/09\/RSPB-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2021\/09\/RSPB-logo.png","width":1200,"height":559,"caption":"RSPB"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/#\/schema\/person\/c478369f000e05a14f47ec7fceb6f4ca","name":"jonathanpearce","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ea019b837ef3147c37c8183f061e14eb0c40a9c6c26912fbbd0f1dce1f8e8577?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ea019b837ef3147c37c8183f061e14eb0c40a9c6c26912fbbd0f1dce1f8e8577?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ea019b837ef3147c37c8183f061e14eb0c40a9c6c26912fbbd0f1dce1f8e8577?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"jonathanpearce"},"url":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/news-blogs\/blog\/author\/jonathanpearce\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/460"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5563"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5569,"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5563\/revisions\/5569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/group.rspb.org.uk\/exeter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}