Berry Head is Torbay's most important wildlife site and one of England's 200 National Nature Reserves. There are several species of rare and threatened plants growing at Berry Head, including Early Gentian, White Rock-Rose, Honewort, Small Hare's Ear, Restharrow and Goldilock's Aster which are dependent upon the thin soils, mild climate and exposed conditions of the headland.

The patchwork of grassland and scrub which covers most of Berry Head is also important for small bird species. The Guillemot colony on the cliffs below the Southern Fort is one of the UK's largest and live CCTV pictures of the colony from a camera mounted on the cliffs can be seen in the Visitor Centre.

Caves at Berry Head are home to the endangered Greater Horseshoe Bat. Cattle which have been reintroduced to Berry Head produce cow-pats which in turn provide food for the bats in the form of dung-beetles!

Two 'Napoleonic war' forts dominate the headland, a dramatic reminder both of Torbay's former military importance and a nation's fear of invasion. Now fully protected as Scheduled Ancient Monuments, the forts provide the site's strongest link with the past and a fantastic viewpoint.

Birds

The Guillemots are Berry Head's most famous inhabitants with around 200 different species have been recorded either on the headland, or seen from it. Shag, Kittiwakes, Fulmars, Herring Gulls, Jackdaws and Feral Pigeons use the cliffs and quarry sides as breeding sites. Across the headland, scrub areas provide shelter for breeding Whitethroats, Linnets and occasionally Stonechats. Nest boxes and dense bushes are home to common garden species such as Blue tit, Blackbird and Dunnock.