The finer material ensures that water mainly flows over the ramp, rather than through it. The ramp also enables young eels or elvers to move up the river, and provides habitat for stone loach and bullheads. Large numbers of swans and geese use the river around Crowland, and out to sea. Smaller populations of each can be seen around the Stamford Meadows, and further upstream.
Wildlife
River Welland
River Welland | Wildlife
Swans and geese Swans and geese. Swans and geese, to name a few. Swans and geese
where does the river welland start and finish
user
The river rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Market Harborough, Stamford and Spalding, to reach The Wash near Fosdyke
assistant
what is the total length of this watercourse?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
what are some of its tributaries?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
what are the names of the fishes found in the watercourse?
user
Wild brown trout, chub and perch
assistant
apart from the source and its mouth, what are some of the places this watercourse passes through?
user
It issues at Spring Croft, Church Street. Sibbertoft sits astride one of the principal watersheds in England. Within , the small stream forms the border between Northamptonshire and Leicestershire.
assistant
what are some of the birds or mammals found near the watercourse?
user
The source of the River Welland is in the parish and it issues as a spring at Spring Croft, Church Street. Sibbertoft sits astride one of the principal watersheds in England and the plateau of land towards Naseby contains the sources of four rivers flowing west, south and east. Coombe Hill Hollow, north of the village, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Sibbertoft | Geography
The finer material ensures that water mainly flows over the ramp, rather than through it. The ramp also enables young eels or elvers to move up the river, and provides habitat for stone loach and bullheads. Large numbers of swans and geese use the river around Crowland, and out to sea. Smaller populations of each can be seen around the Stamford Meadows, and further upstream.
River Welland | Wildlife
Acid sandy soils and neutral clay and loams provide a range of habitats, and there is some brookland adjoining the River Rother. There is no chalk. There is ancient grassland on River Common where glow-worms can be seen. Much of Petworth deer park with closely grazed ancient turf and numerous ant hills is within the parish boundary. The northern part of the parish has a diversity of small fields,hedges and woodlands supporting a wide range of species. Foxes, badgers, fallow deer and roe deer are plentiful. Muntjac deer are sometimes seen. Four species of reptile are present. Adders are found on the common and grass snakes throughout.
Tillington, West Sussex | Wildlife
Over two hundred Bewick's swans have been recorded, making the site an internationally important wintering ground for this species. Raptor species such as short-eared owl, merlin and peregrine regularly hunt over the site in winter. Vertebrate species present include barred grass snake and common frog. Otters are regularly recorded on the site. Southlake Moor is another biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, this one covering near the junction of the Tone and Parrett at Burrow Mump and Burrowbridge. Southlake Moor is unusual in that, when conditions in the River Parrett are suitable, it may be deliberately flooded in winter by means of a sluice in the river floodbank.
River Tone | Ecology
Large areas of wetland (as well as several small woods) at the western end of the lake form a nature reserve, managed by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The area is designated a Special Protection Area of international importance for its wintering populations of gadwall (some 4% of this species’ European population) and shoveller. It is home to the Anglian Water Bird Watching Centre. Every August, the centre is the venue for the British Birdwatching Fair. Other birds found here include lapwing, coot, goldeneye, tufted duck, pochard, teal, wigeon, cormorant, great crested grebe, little grebe and, most notably, osprey, which were re-introduced to the area during 1996, including one called "Mr Rutland".
Rutland Water | Wildlife
The Welland rises in the Hothorpe Hills in the parish of Sibbertoft, Northamptonshire and it issues at Spring Croft, Church Street. Sibbertoft sits astride one of the principal watersheds in England. Within , the small stream forms the border between Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. It flows westwards, before looping round, passing through the grounds of Hothorpe Hall in Theddingworth, now a conference centre, to flow generally eastwards through Lubenham to Market Harborough. One of the driveways to Thorpe Lubenham Hall is carried over the river by an early nineteenth century ashlar bridge which is a Grade II listed structure. To the east of Lubenham, the river passes Old Lubenham Hall, part of an H-plan house built in the late sixteenth century and modified in the early eighteenth century.
River Welland | Course
The site supports a large variety of birds. Beside the river, common sandpiper, grey wagtail, dipper, kingfisher, and even osprey, have been reported. In the woods are lesser spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, wood warbler, nuthatch, chiffchaff, treecreeper and buzzard. The Harrogate and District Naturalist's Society (HDNS) recorded 24 bird species here in March 2017, including mallard, sparrowhawk, grey wagtail, wren, robin, song thrush, blackbird, chiffchaff, great tit, long-tailed tit, nuthatch and chaffinch. Animals seen here are stoat, badger, red fox, brown hare, rabbit, grey squirrel, mole, roe deer, and otter. The noctule bat and pipistrelle are here, besides the common frog, which congregates seasonally at the Fountain Pond.
Hack Fall Wood | Fauna
Mammals found at the site include European otter, European water vole, European badger and European rabbit, and small numbers of red deer and muntjac can be seen. The reptiles adder, slow-worm and common lizard are present in heath areas, while the amphibians common frog, common toad, smooth newt and palmate newt can be found in wetland areas.
North Warren RSPB reserve | Ecology
This site has been designated because of the types of flowers found in its wet grasslands, the variety of wildlife found in its ditches, and its populations of wading birds, particularly lapwing, redshank and snipe. The river discharges into the River Parrett just south of Highbridge. The Parrett flows into Bridgwater Bay, which is also an important national nature reserve, on the edge of the Bristol Channel.
River Huntspill | Flora and fauna
The river, in its upper reaches, supports a wild brown trout population and the occasional grayling. Chub and perch dominate the middle reaches around Stamford, with pike, perch, zander, roach, bream, rudd, ruffe, gudgeon and eels inhabiting the lower lengths around Spalding. A collaboration between the Welland Rivers Trust, the Wild Trout Trust and the Environment Agency has resulted in the construction of a rock ramp, to allow migrating sea trout to pass up the river beyond the weir on the Maxey Cut, which was acting as a barrier. Some 300 tons of rock, with 50 tons of finer material forming a top layer, were used to create the ramp.
River Welland | Wildlife
Some 96 species of aquatic and bankside vascular plant species have been recorded from Southlake Moor, of particular interest is the greater water-parsnip ("Sium latifolium"). When the moor is flooded, large numbers of wildfowl may be present; with up to 22,000 wigeon, 250 Bewick's swan and good numbers of pochard, teal and tufted duck. Regular signs of otter are to be seen on the muddy banks of the River Parrett. The ditches on the east side of the site contain a population of the palmate newt.
River Tone | Ecology
The nearby Walthamstow Reservoirs and River Lea support a variety of waterfowl including herons, geese, swans, moorhens and coots. The Walthamstow Reservoirs was awarded a Heritage Lottery grant, funding their development into Europe's largest Urban Wetland Park. The Paddocks Nature Park provides a nesting site for birds such as song thrush, blackbird and various warblers. Weasels and hedgehogs as well as bats reside in the park.
Tottenham Hale | Wildlife
Otters, red kites, common buzzards, peregrines and hen harriers can be found here together with a number of Welsh Mountain Ponies, and adder, badger, blackcap, Dartford warbler, fallow deer, nightingale, nightjar, willow warbler, and woodcock. The site holds a population of rosy marsh moth, a very rare species in the UK.
Cors Fochno | Wildlife
Over 100 species of aquatic invertebrates inhabit the ditches including one nationally rare soldier fly, ("Odontomyia ornata") and 13 nationally scarce species including the water beetles "Agabus uliginosus", "Hydaticus transversalis" and "Helophorus nanus". In winter the flooded fields provide food for large numbers of waterfowl with several thousand northern lapwing, hundreds of common snipe and smaller numbers of golden plover and dunlin regularly present. Over two hundred Bewick's swans have been recorded, making the site an internationally important wintering ground for this species. Raptor species such as short-eared owl, merlin and peregrine regularly hunt over the site in winter. Vertebrate species present include barred grass snake and common frog.
Curry and Hay Moors | Introduction
Wildlife in the river varies along its length, the faster headwaters being a habitat for trout and the slower lower reaches for perch. The estuary conditions and flat landscapes beyond Fosdyke favour wading birds and migratory species.
River Welland | Introduction
Lesser noctule bats and water voles figure among the scarcer mammals found on the reserve, and otters have returned to the now-clean rivers. Other mammal species targeted for monitoring during the creation process include the brown hare and the pipistrelle. The alder leaf beetle, formerly believed extinct in the UK, has colonised the Dearne and other local river catchments, probably introduced when the pollution-tolerant Italian alder was planted on restored land. Other uncommon insects found at Old Moor include the great silver water beetle, the longhorn beetle "Pyrrhidium sanguineum", the dingy skipper butterfly, and a day-flying moth, the six-belted clearwing.
RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor | Other animals and plants
The area of the headwaters of the Tweed would have been frequented by wild boar in Anglo-Saxon times. The other example of wella in the watershed is "Twitchell". Brook Farm, west of Stoke Golding takes its name from the unnamed stream running north towards the Tweed at the foot of Ambion Hill.
River Sence | Names related to the watercourses
A large variety of bird species can be found on Dartmoor including ones that have declined elsewhere in the UK, such as skylark and snipe, or are even rare nationally, such as the ring ouzel and the cuckoo. There are internationally important populations of meadow pipit and stonechat. Woodland birds include a number of migrant species, like the pied flycatcher, the wood warbler or the common redstart. Mammals found here include otters, hazel dormice and nearly all of the UK's 16 bat species. Three rare species, the barbastelle, and the greater and lesser horseshoe bats are of particular importance. The upper reaches of the rivers, are spawning grounds for Salmon and trout and Palmate newts, frogs and toads breed in the numerous small pools.
Dartmoor | Wildlife
The River Kennet is a haven for various plants and animals. Its course takes it through the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the river between Marlborough and Woolhampton is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The protection that this status affords the Kennet means that many endangered species of plants and animals can be found here. The white drifts of water crowfoot ("Ranunculus") in early summer are characteristic of chalk and limestone rivers; there are superb displays by the footbridge at Chilton Foliat, and by the road bridge in Hungerford. Animal species such as the water vole, grass snake, reed bunting, brown trout, and brook lamprey flourish here, despite being in decline in other parts of the country.
River Kennet | Wildlife
Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits is a 1,382.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in a chain of flooded gravel pits along 35 kilometres of the valley of the River Nene between Northampton and Thorpe Waterville (east of Kettering) in Northamptonshire. It is a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, a Special Protection Area under the European Communities Birds Directive and part of the Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area. It is also part of the River Nene Regional Park. Two areas are managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, Summer Leys and Titchmarsh Nature Reserve. This site is described by Natural England as "a nationally important site for its breeding bird assemblage of lowland open waters and their margins, wintering waterbird species, an assemblage of over 20,000 waterbirds in the non-breeding season and a rare example of wet floodplain woodland." The diverse habitats include, marsh, reedswamp, rough grassland, scrub, wet ditches, woodland and rush pasture.
Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits | Introduction
The underlying geology consists of Lias clays at the western end of the catchment, with Lincolnshire limestone in the centre, including the valleys of the Glen. The eastern third is mostly alluvial soils, and it is this part that relies on artificial pumping to prevent flooding. Rainfall over the area varies between per year, which is quite light, and because the land is efficiently drained during the winter months, there are few reserves, making the area prone to drought in the summer months. For much of its length the Welland forms the county boundary between Northamptonshire and Leicestershire or Rutland, and lower down between Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.
River Welland | Geography
This chalk stream has one of the richest fauna and flora of any lowland river in England. More than 100 species of flowering plant have been recorded along its banks and 232 invertebrate taxa in the river. It is also important for wetland birds, with breeding species including kingfishers, grey wagtails and little grebes.
River Test | Ecology
The largest is Rutland Water at , a major wetland area which is one of the richest reservoirs for wintering wildfowl in the country. The smallest is Bloody Oaks Quarry at , which has species-rich grassland on Jurassic limestone.
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust | Introduction
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae The swans, ducks and geese are medium to large birds that are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet and bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent. In many ducks the male is colourful while the female is dull brown. The diet consists of a variety of animals and plants. The family is well represented in the counties, especially in winter when large numbers visit from further north.
List of birds of Leicestershire and Rutland | Ducks, geese and swans
Nearby is the Hardington Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve where meadows are examples of species-rich unimproved neutral grassland, which is now nationally rare. The rare French oat-grass is very abundant on the site and the fields are home to a wide variety of plant species, most notably adder's tongue, corky-fruited water-dropwort and large numbers of green-winged orchid. Invertebrates found at the site include butterflies such as gatekeeper, small tortoiseshell and common blue. Less commonly seen are large skipper, green-veined white and green hairstreak.
West Coker | Geography
In England, the Farndale valley in the North York Moors National Park hosts a large population of the species, along the banks of the River Dove. There are several nature reserves in Gloucestershire supporting large populations of the species near Dymock Woods SSSI. There is a Daffodil Walk Trail around several reserves in the spring.
Narcissus pseudonarcissus | Distribution
Local bird and mammal species include: moorhen, mallard, mute swan, greylag goose, rabbit, barnacle goose, Canada goose, robin, blue tit, herring gull, sheep, cattle and grey wagtail. Most of the geese nest in the fenced off reservoir area. Rare freshwater mussels are also to be found in the quieter drains and streams that are in confluence with the Ouse.
Barcombe Mills | Local wildlife
The river provides habitat for most of the species of coarse fish that can be found in Britain. It is known for the unusually large sea trout that migrate up the river each year to spawn. There are also populations of pike and more recently carp, both of which can exceed in weight. Other species include barbel, roach, dace, rudd, perch, chub, bream and tench. The Sheffield and Batts Bridge tributaries have small populations of pumpkinseed, which have escaped from on-line fish ponds, and since 2009 a few catfish have appeared in the river at and upstream of Lewes. Rarer breeds which inhabit the river include grayling, stone loach, river lampreys, and bullhead, which are a species under threat on an international scale.
River Ouse, Sussex | Ecology and wildlife
Habitats on the site include chalk stream, tall fen, hay meadow and wet pasture. Plant life includes green-flowered helleborine, water crowfoot, lesser water-parsnip, purple loosestrife ("Lythrum salicaria"), yellow flag ("Iris pseudacorus"), various sedges, common reed, reed canary grass, fleabane, meadowsweet ("Filipendula ulmaria"), fen bedstraw, southern marsh-orchid, yellow rattle and eyebright. Birds include little grebe, mute swan and mallard, reed and sedge warblers, gadwall, wigeon and snipe. There are many different species of breeding dragonfly and damselfly including the broad-bodied chaser, common darter and banded demoiselle.
Winnall Moors | Flora and fauna
These include great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, treecreeeper, nuthatch, five tit species, sparrowhawk, buzzard and many finches including chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch and bullfinch. In winter large flocks of goldfinches and siskins can be found around the village and in the surrounding countryside there are redwing and fieldfare. The woodlands contain many fine trees including oaks and ash. In the spring lesser celandine can in found in great profusion along the Penk and other damp places. In autumn a wide variety of fungi can be found including puffballs, King Alfred's cakes and collared earthstars. The two lakes and the area along the river Penk can hold mallard, tufted duck, mute swan, Canada goose, coot, moorhen, grey wagtail, grey heron and kingfisher.
Perton | Birds
The site supports grasses and herbs which are typical of wet neutral meadows. Species include narrow-leaved water-dropwort ("Oenanthe silaifolia"), which is one of the largest populations in Great Britain. There is crested dog's tail, meadow foxtail, meadow buttercup, great burnet and meadow vetchling. The national scarce mousetail is recorded for this site (one of three locations in Gloucestershire).
Upham Meadow and Summer Leasow | Flora
The Marbury and Quoisley Meres with their surrounding reed beds form a significant wildlife habitat. Quoisley Meres are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and have also been designated Wetlands of International Importance, as part of the Midland Meres and Mosses Ramsar site. The meres are important for wildfowl; gadwall, garganey and ruddy ducks are among the species observed at Quoisley, with great crested, red-necked and Slavonian grebes, great and little bittern, Canada and pink-footed geese, coots, moorhens and mute swans recorded at Marbury. The woodland across the civil parish also supports birdlife, with nightingale and marsh tit being among the many species recorded here.
Marbury, Cheshire | Ecology
Breeding birds include pochards, which are nationally scarce, mute swans, great crested grebe and grey herons. There are many more waterfowl in the winter. The site is also important for bats, and amphibians include the protected great crested newt. Aquatic plants include bogbean and frogbit, both of which are rare in London.
Lonsdale Road Reservoir | Ecology
The slow-moving Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea form a freshwater habitat with one of the most diverse invertebrate fauna in Essex. Eighteen species of dragonflies and damselflies have been recorded and includes the uncommon and nationally declining white-legged damselfly. The watercourses support a rich and varied aquatic and marginal flora and the site also includes rough grassland which provides feeding and breeding grounds for invertebrates and birds.
Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea | Habitat
The river is a designated site of special scientific interest due to the fish that it supports. Of particular interest are the resident populations of spined loach ("Cobitis taenia") and European bullhead ("Cottus gobio") (two internationally notable species of native freshwater fish with a restricted distribution in England), white-clawed crayfish ("Austropotamobius pallipes") and European otters ("Lutra lutra"). The most numerous fish in the river are chub and roach; with dace, pike, perch and gudgeon also recorded. The river's wildlife is highly sensitive to pollution and fish numbers have fallen since 2007.
River Mease | Wildlife
A large assemblage of breeding birds including nationally rare species such as Cetti's warbler ("Cettia cetti") make use of the reedbed, fen and open water habitats found at Thatcham Reed Beds. Thatcham's network of gravel pits, reed bed, woodland, hedges and grassland is rich in wildlife and has been made into The Nature Discovery Centre by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Monkey Marsh Lock at Thatcham is one of only two remaining working examples of turf-sided locks on the canal today. It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument by English Heritage.
Kennet and Avon Canal | Newbury to Reading
The mature pools of Sound Heath form one of the most important sites in Cheshire for freshwater invertebrates. The mud snail ("Omphiscola glabra"), "Enochrus isotae" species of water scavenger beetle and the great raft spider ("Dolomedes plantarius"), which are rare or endangered in the UK, are among the many species that have been recorded in the site's ponds. Locally rare pond dwellers include the caseless caddisfly ("Holocentropus stagnalis") and the diving beetle ("Hygrotus decoratus"). Dragonflies and damselflies are common, with 15 species recorded, two-thirds of which are known to breed here. Species include the broad-bodied chaser ("Libellula depressa"), common hawker ("Aeshna juncea"), emperor ("Anax imperator") and ruddy darter ("Sympetrum sanguineum"), as well as the first Cheshire sighting of the migrant hawker ("Aeshna mixta").
Sound Heath | Invertebrates
The river supports a number of habitats, and is described as a high quality watercourse. The river itself is a habitat for a number of species, including white-clawed crayfish and species of fish. The river also supports a number of other habitats, providing a source of water for communities of animals including the deer in the ancient deer park at Bradgate Park. The river is protected within a conservation area of the Leicestershire Wildlife Trust.
River Lin | Wildlife
An unwelcome relative newcomer is the mink population, descended from animals that escaped or were deliberately released from fur farms since the 1950s, which cause havoc amongst native wildlife. Farlington Marshes, of flower-rich grazing marsh and saline lagoon at the north end of Langstone Harbour, is a nature reserve and an internationally important over-wintering site for wildfowl. In a valley on the downs is Selborne; the countryside surrounding the village was the location of Gilbert White's pioneering observations on natural history. Hampshire's county flower is the Dog Rose.
Hampshire | Wildlife
Suchindram is noted for the wide variety of migratory waterbirds that winter there, including: near threatened painted stork and spot-billed pelicans. Also seen here are cattle egrets, great cormorants, darters, purple swamphen, and bronze-winged jacanas. Resident raptors include pied kingfisher, brahminy kite and marsh harrier. Other water birds are dabchick, grey heron, garganey, purple heron, cinnamon bittern, open bill stork, cotton pygmy goose, whiskered tern and little tern, black-winged stilt, greenshank, little ringed plover and the common sandpiper.
Suchindram Theroor Birds Sanctuary | Fauna
Additional nature conservation areas were created beside the river in the 20th century, when a number of disused gravel pits, were rehabilitated as nature reserves. One of the most important of these is Attenborough Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which is visited by wildfowl such as wigeon and teal. Wading birds such as oystercatcher and bittern have also been observed at the reserve; as have kingfishers, reed warblers and water rails. Other managed wetland sites along the river include Beckingham Marshes, Croxall Lakes, Drakelow, and Willington Gravel Pits. At Besthorpe near Newark, breeding pairs of little egrets and grey herons have been observed.
River Trent | Wildlife and ecology
Brown trout "Salmo trutta fario" and eel "Anguilla anguilla" are known to occur in Nanny's Water. The site supports a varied reptile fauna, including grass snake "Natrix natrix" and adder "Vipera berus". It also supports a number of bird species including water rail, which rarely breeds in Devon but has been recorded during the summer at this site. During the winter snipe and woodcock commonly feed within the fen, and grey heron and barn owl occur.
Bolshayne Fen | Other biodiversity interest
Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae Rails and allies mainly occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, marshes or rivers. Many are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces.
List of birds of Leicestershire and Rutland | Rails, crakes and coots
There are four non-statutory Nature Conservation Sites along the river: Middlebrough plantation just outside Newby Wiske; Stony Lane Pond near the confluence of Stony Lane Beck and Carr Beck; Pepper Arden Bottoms near East Cowton and Pheasantry Wood and Fox Covert near Danby Wiske. The river passes through farmland bounded by hedgerows with some wet woodland near Kirby Wiske and some grassland near Newby Wiske. Biodiversity audits carried out in 2010 found European water vole on the river between Danby Wiske and Brompton Beck. European otters were found on the river between North Otterington and Kirby Wiske. Soprano pipistrelle and brown long-eared bat were also found in the area along with kingfisher, reed bunting and lapwing.
River Wiske | Natural history
Oughton Nature Reserve in Hitchin in Hertfordshire is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The 6.2-hectare site on the north bank of the River Oughton is not publicly accessible, but it can be viewed across the river from Oughtonhead Common. The site has a variety of habitats, including wet and dry woodland, the river margin and fen areas. Willow, reed and rush were formerly grown and harvested in the wetter areas, and there was a corn mill at the eastern end. Birds include kingfishers, water rails and woodcock, and there are mammals such as water shrews.
Oughtonhead Nature Reserve | Introduction
The timber used was poles of pine, a reflection on the local availability of the tree at the time it was built. On drier patches plants include the dwarf shrubs heather and cross-leaved heath, in wetter places common cottongrass, hare's-tail cottongrass, bog cranberry, bog-rosemary, bog-myrtle and several species of "Sphagnum" moss. The invertebrate fauna includes the rare mire pill beetle, and other uncommon species of beetle, the bog rush cricket and the large heath butterfly. Birds that breed here include various heathland passerines as well as the nightingale, nightjars and three species of owl. The running water in the drainage ditches provides habitat for twelve species of pondweed, greater bladderwort, arrowhead and the nationally uncommon short-leaved water starwort.
Hatfield Moors | SSSI
A total of 172 different species of birds were recorded, including a number of birds which normally occupy the coastal fringes rather than inland sites. These include ringed plover, little ringed plover, shelduck and oystercatchers. The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust have been active in planting reeds to improve the habitat, which are grown at Langford Quarry in a joint venture between Tarmac and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
River Idle | Conservation
This site is designated due to its biological qualities. SSSIs in Wales have been notified for a total of 142 different animal species and 191 different plant species. The site is of special interest for its population of the internationally rare southern damselfly ("Coenagrion mercuriale"), which breeds in this small valley near Afon Anghof, above Puncheston. A number of springs and streams support a large population of the damselfly. Amongst the abundant wetland plants is a population of the pale butterwort ("Pinguicula lusitanica").
Waun Fawr, Puncheston | Type
Nearby is the Hardington Moor biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve where the meadows are examples of species-rich unimproved neutral grassland, which is now nationally rare. The rare French oat-grass is very abundant on the site and the fields are home to a wide variety of plant species, most notably adder's tongue, corky-fruited water-dropwort and large numbers of green-winged orchid. Invertebrates found at the site include butterflies such as gatekeeper, small tortoiseshell and common blue. Less commonly seen are large skipper, green-veined white and green hairstreak.
Hardington Mandeville | Geography
Higham Ferrers Pits is a 10 hectare nature reserve Northamptonshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. It is part of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar internationally important wetland site and Special Protection Area under the EC Birds Directive. This narrow strip of grassland next to the River Nene is a refuge for breeding and wintering birds such as little grebes, shovelers, reed warblers, gadwalls and reed buntings. There are diverse damselflies and dragonflies. The Nene Way long distance footpath goes through the site.
Higham Ferrers Pits | Introduction
The common is underlain by Triassic sandstone and the varied habitats include wet and dry heaths, acidic marshy grassland and deciduous woodland with birch and oak. The heath is dominated by heather, with bilberry, wavy hair-grass, gorse, heath grass, tormentil, hairy sedge, pill sedge and heath bedstraw, with cross-leaved heath Erica tetralix and purple moor-grass; in the wet, peaty hollows are heath rush, common cottongrass and hare's-tail cottongrass, deer grass, "Sphagnum compactum", bog asphodel and bulbous rush. Also present in wet patches are oblong-leaved sundew and round-leaved sundew. Birds that breed here include sparrowhawk, tawny owl, great spotted woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker, Eurasian jay, redpoll and linnet.
Thurstaston Common | SSSI
The river is important for its dragonfly communities, with a strong population of Scarce Chaser (found in only six other areas in England), together with a strong population of White-legged Damselfly. Red-eyed Damselfly is also found. The river is also important for aquatic plants, including Loddon Pondweed. The Kellaways – West Tytherton Site of Special Scientific Interest, north east of Chippenham, is of geological interest as the river bank exposes Callovian highly-fossiliferous sandstone which contains well-preserved bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods, belemnites and ammonites. Further downstream at Newton St Loe the Newton St Loe SSSI is another Geological Conservation Review SSSI. It represents the only remaining known exposure of fossiliferous Pleistocene gravels along the River Avon.
River Avon, Bristol | Conservation areas
The Chess Valley is partly within the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), with wildlife characteristic of chalk streams and chiltern hills. It supports several key species listed in the Government's UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Mammals such as the water vole, birds including the green sandpiper, grey heron, grey wagtail, little egret, osprey, mute swan, stonechat, water rail and kingfisher, flora such as water crowfoot, purple loosestrife, hemp agrimony, water forget-me not and branched bur-reed. Freshwater fish, found include specifically the brown trout, grayling and bullhead. To support the fish population there is a rich diversity of both invertebrates and of insects, including the mayfly.
River Chess | Wildlife
The latter is normally a heathland species, but here it thrives due to the acidic soils present at the site. The woods are an important refuge for wildlife in the otherwise sub-urban housing environment of Shirley, and are home to many native species including for green and greater spotted woodpeckers, squirrels, voles, bats, owls and foxes. The two pockets of woodland are joined by a strip of mature oak trees and smaller woody bushes, which provides an important corridor for wildlife between the two. A pond lies within the eastern pocket of woodland and provides a refuge for wildfowl such as ducks and coots, and is also home to rare "Sphagnum" moss and marsh cinquefoil.
Palmers Rough | Nature
To the south of the town, between Little Ponton and Saltersford, the River Witham flows through marshes and water meadows. These support a variety of plant species including vetches, cowslip, "Primula veris", Lady's bedstraw {Galium verum}, and orchids, including the Southern Marsh Orchid, and wildlife, including herons, ducks, geese, water vole, and the now critically endangered white clawed crayfish. This area has notable populations of dragonflies, especially "Aeshna grandis", "Anax imperator", "Libellula quadrimaculata" and "Calopteryx splendens", that are also found on Grantham Canal, which runs through The Vale of Belvoir to the west of the town. Wildlife can also be found in the town's Wyndham and Dysart Parks.
Grantham | Nature
Fuller information may be found in the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves handbook. The wintering wildfowl include wigeon (est. 4000), teal (est. 1500) and mallard (est. 1000) in large numbers. Smaller numbers can be seen of pintail and shoveler. Tufted duck, pochard, goldeneye and great crested and little grebe are amongst the diving birds at peak floods. Regular visitors are Bewick's swan and white-fronted geese. There is a small breeding population of mallard, lapwing, common snipe, curlew and redshank. Other breeding species including redstart, grasshopper warbler, sedge warbler, yellow wagtail and reed bunting. The meadows are also used as a feeding ground by many migrants.
Ashleworth Ham | Species
The Northumberland site is also home to a variety of other species including red squirrel, fox, and badger, as well as roe deer and fallow deer. There are approximately 55 bird species, including common buzzards, European green woodpeckers, and the Eurasian nuthatch which claims this latitude as its northernmost range in the United Kingdom. An on-site warden at the park leads small groups on foot to find the Chillingham cattle herd; on some days they are evident in one of the easily accessible meadows, while on rare occasions they can be difficult to find without a fair bit of walking, given the tangled woodlands and the amount of space they have for roaming.
Chillingham cattle | Description of the Northumberland habitat
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sittidae Nuthatches are small woodland birds with the unusual ability to climb down trees head-first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. There are about 24 species worldwide, one breeding in Leicestershire and Rutland.
List of birds of Leicestershire and Rutland | Nuthatches
The Ise contains many varieties of coarse and game fish, including roach, perch, barbel and chub. It is also the only watercourse within Northamptonshire to contain grayling (thymallus thymallus).
River Ise | Fishing on The Ise
Wadenhoe Marsh and Achurch Meadow is a 47.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Wadenhoe in Northamptonshire. This complex site on both sides of the River Nene has a variety of habitats and a diverse range of fauna and flora. The west of the river is alder woodland and marshy grassland. On the east there is the largest example in the county of unimproved grassland on alluvium and gravel, with over 100 flowering plant species. An oxbow in the river is a site for rare plants. The Nene Way long distance footpath runs through the site west of the river, but the larger eastern meadows are private land with no public access.
Wadenhoe Marsh and Achurch Meadow | Introduction
As it rejoins its original course, it passes under Wilton Bridge, and there are footpaths on both sides, set back from the channel on flood banks. To the south of the river are a series of washes, meres and wooded stretches. Parts of this area were formerly arable farmland, but were converted into the Lakenheath Fen wetland by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The reedbeds and grazing marshes have attracted significant populations of reed warblers, sedge warblers, bearded tits, marsh harriers, and increasingly, bitterns. At the western end of the fens is Botany Bay, where water from Lakenheath Old Lode and the Twelve Foot Drain is pumped into the river.
River Little Ouse | Below Thetford
It is the premier UK site for breeding black-necked grebes and a stronghold for the willow tit, and other breeding birds include little grebe, great crested grebe, shelduck, Eurasian teal, Northern shoveler, water rail, common cuckoo, common kingfisher, common grasshopper warbler and Eurasian reed warbler. Woolston Eyes also supports nationally important wintering numbers of Northern shoveler, Eurasian teal gadwall and common pochard. There are 12 species of herpetofauna recorded, including sand lizard, smooth snake, natterjack toad and all three native British species of newt. It is also home to 21 species of Odonata, dragonflies and damselfies, out of 58 species found in Britain, as well as 26 species of butterfly.
Woolston Eyes | Wildlife
The river holds a variety of fish species, including roach, dace and chubb. White-clawed crayfish are known to be in the river, which puts them at risk, as invasive species of crayfish are known to be in the Welland.
River Chater | Wildlife
Other flora include slender bird's-foot-trefoil and marsh mallow. The site is a winter refuge for ducks, geese and wading birds and avocet are known to use the location as a breeding ground in the summer months. The Walkway Pond is home to dragonflies, damselflies, moorhen, mallard and a variety of warblers. Water voles have been reintroduced to the reserve and the River Meon, as part of a project by South Downs National Park, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and The Environment Agency. The reserve has a number of hides, Cottage Hide, Meon Shore Hide, Knights Bank Hide, Meadow Hide, Pumfrett Hide, Spurgin Hide, Suffern Hide and West Hide, from which it is possible to observe the local wildlife, which includes fox and deer as well as waterfowl.
Titchfield Haven | Ecology
The Oldbury Arm of the River Tame flows through the park from south to north, close to its western edge. It is flanked by a length of the River Tame Way. It feeds a number of lakes of varying sizes, which help relieve flooding along the river. These and the surrounding wetland, grassland and woods provide an important urban habitat. Some of the original brickworks buildings are still discernible around the lakes, which have islands to act as wildlife havens. Large numbers of wild flowers, small mammals and amphibians are to be found, along with varied insect life. The council claims that 164 bird species have been recorded on the site since 1985.
Sheepwash Urban Park | Features
There is a wet woodland on the site, with willow and alder trees, alongside areas of sedge, and flat, wet wild flower meadows. 200 species of mammals, birds, insects, and plants have been recorded within the site, including snipe, cuckoos, stonechats, warblers, reed buntings and barn owls. The site features a raised walkway.
Fenor Bog | Features
The total list for the LROS recording area is therefore 308 species. Leicestershire and Rutland are landlocked lowland counties and most of the birds are typical of English farmland habitat. Many coastal, oceanic and highland birds are absent or rare, and there are few rare vagrants compared to coastal areas. The construction of two large reservoirs, Eyebrook Reservoir in 1940 and Rutland Water (England's largest reservoir) in 1976, has provided freshwater environments enabling many aquatic birds to thrive.
List of birds of Leicestershire and Rutland | Introduction
The Nene Valley is one of the most important wetlands in England and has gained international recognition for its significance as a stop-over for thousands of wildfowl and waders that visit during the winter. The quantity and variety of birdlife varies greatly with the seasons, with the following overwintering at the site: Surrounding the river and lakes, fragments of now rare meadow survive. These provide ideal conditions for meadowsweet, great burnet and common spotted orchid.
Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows | Wildlife
More than 230 species of bird have been observed along the river valley including eagle-owl, red grouse, stonechat, whinchat, golden plover, pied flycatcher, redstart, wood warbler, common sandpiper, grey wagtail, dipper, tawny owl, sparrowhawk, greater spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, treecreeper and, in wetter places, snipe and woodcock, chiffchaff, willow warbler, garden warbler, and twite. The Wharfe has populations of signal crayfish and the few white-clawed crayfish remaining are at great risk. The river is also home to a colony of fine-lined pea mussels. The creature is mostly congregated in rivers in Wales and central and southern England; the presence of the mussels in the Wharfe has been noted as a "considerable outpost".
River Wharfe | Fauna
Martin Mere has its own "Domesday Book", listing (for 2002) nationally important species of wildlife found ate the reserve, other than birds include the whorled caraway ("Carum verticillatum "), at its only site in England away from the southwest, and the regionally scarce water dropwort ("Oenanthe fistulosa"). Another sign of the sites importance for biodiversity is the recording of the first records of the micromoth, the marsh dowd ("Blastobasis rebeli"), for northern England.
WWT Martin Mere | Introduction
At Greylake the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a reserve covering , where birds including Eurasian curlews, lapwings, snipe and redshanks can be seen in summer, with Bewick's swans, golden plovers, shovelers, teals and wigeons arriving in the winter.
King's Sedgemoor Drain | Wildlife
Gosforth Nature Reserve contains an important wetland, which is dominated by "Phragmites" reeds and open water and surrounded by wet carr woodland. These wetland habitats support breeding bird species such as reed warbler, water rail, reed bunting, sedge warbler, common tern and little grebe and in the winter birds such as bittern, kingfisher, wigeon, teal and shoveler. Aquatic mammals such as otter. water vole and water shrew are also present. England's second largest colony of coralroot orchid is also found here. The majority of the reserve is semi-natural woodland, dominated by oak and birch, however, there are also some plantations of conifers.
Gosforth Nature Reserve | Habitats and wildlife
Ditches and the riverbank provide a permanently wet habitat, encouraging wading birds such as snipe and curlew. Invertebrates include damselflies. There is access from the Bernwood Jubilee Way between Marsh Gibbon and the A41 road, adjacent to the River Ray.
Long Herdon Meadow | Introduction
The Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust handbook includes species information. The Badgeworth reserve handbook includes a current full species list. Adder's-tongue Spearwort numbers fluctuate from year to year, and depend on the climatic conditions during the autumn germination period. June is the normal flowering period. This wetland site supports a number of other plants, which include Lesser Spearwort, Common Water-crowfoot, Narrow-leaved Water-plantain, Marsh Speedwell, Pink Water-speedwell, Fen Bedstraw and Marsh Foxtail. Since 1963 to 2008, 305 species of beetle have been recorded. Common Frogs and Great Crested, Smooth and Palmate newts breed in the ponds.
Badgeworth SSSI, Gloucestershire | Species
Thorley Wash or Thorley Flood Pound is a 17.3-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Thorley, south of Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire. It was formerly a flood pound for the Stort Navigation, which was decommissioned in 2004 and converted to a more natural state. It was purchased by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust from the Environment Agency in 2011. Habitats include tall wash grassland, which is now rare, marsh and waterlogged grassland. It has a wide variety of plant species, including reed sweet-grass and meadowsweet. There are flowers such as fen bedstraw and early marsh orchid. Breeding birds include snipe and water rails.
Thorley Wash nature reserve | Introduction
The Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre has European and Asian short-clawed otters and a medium-sized duck pond, a nature trail including snowy and barn owls and other birds along it. It has a fish pond, a restaurant area and a gift shop. The nature trail is full of wildlife such as fallow and muntjac deer, peacocks and the not quite so English wallabies. As well as this the nature trail has a waterfall falling down from the top of an old quarry and every few years different segments of the woodlands are coppiced. Some of the wood from this scheme is piled up in random areas of the woodlands as it makes a perfect home for badgers, hedgehogs and many creepy crawlies.
Flora and fauna of Cornwall | The Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre, North Petherwin
The mixed woodland of coniferous and broad leaf trees covering the quarried sandstone edges mean this site is host to a wide range of woodland birds. Species recorded include coal tits and goldcrests as well as some warblers and woodpeckers. In addition to birds, more than 120 species of butterflies and moths are present throughout the site. Situated at the top of the ridge, remains some relic heathland.
Corbet Wood and Grinshill | Wildlife
The wet heathland is situated within the wider pondscape, and provides a refuge for the Great Crested Newt, an important protected species. There are scrapes and shallow ponds which help to retain the wetness of the habitat, and these support the propagation of new plants and the populations of dragonflies. The variety of the habitat from sunny embankments to darker areas supports butterflies and fungi.
Laymoor Quag | Habitat
Since the 1980s the trust has campaigned to save wetlands in the Gordano Valley in North Somerset where Clapton Moor (40 hectares of grassland) near Clapton in Gordano, Weston Big Wood, (38 hectares of ancient woodland), and Weston Moor (59 hectares of wet grassland) near Weston in Gordano and Walton Common north east of Walton in Gordano are now rich in birdlife. The installation of sluice gates in the 1990s raised the water levels and encouraged lapwing to breed. At Dolebury Warren Iron Age hill fort, special grassland and rare butterflies have been encouraged by the trust's scrub clearance work.
Avon Wildlife Trust | History
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cinclidae Dark, dumpy, aquatic birds that are able to forage for food on the beds of rivers. There are five species worldwide, with one recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland.
List of birds of Leicestershire and Rutland | Dippers
The river is classified as being heavily modified, and much work has been undertaken by the Environment Agency and local volunteers to raise the watercourses' standard. Work by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has seen the return of many animals such as otters and herons. They have also installed logs in the river around the lakes in Staveley to provide shelter for fish. Whilst the presence of Cyprinid fish and brown trout in the watercourse is "likely", despite the poor chemical composition of the water,the river is noted for its Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed. Mink faeces have also been observed on the river.
River Tutt | Natural history
The upper reaches of the River Etherow pass through peat moorland, inhabited by red foxes, voles and an introduced population of mountain hare. Red grouse, ring ouzel, wheatear and golden plover may be seen. Kestrels, merlins and short-eared owls nest here. The reservoirs attract mallards, and also teal, pochard, common sandpipers, black-headed gulls and Canada geese. The woodlands are home to redstart, great spotted woodpecker, and spotted flycatcher. Water rail have been recorded at Etherow Country Park.
River Etherow | Natural history
The reservoir, which has an area of , is attractive to waterbirds, in particular wintering wildfowl and gulls. Wildfowl present regularly in winter include mallard ("Anas platyrhynchos"), gadwall ("Anas strepera"), tufted duck ("Aythya fuligula"), common pochard ("Aythya ferina"), Eurasian wigeon ("Anas penelope"), common goldeneye ("Bucephala clangula") and goosander ("Mergus merganser"). A large flock of coot ("Fulica atra") is present, and great crested grebe ("Podiceps cristatus") is also numerous. Because of its proximity to the Bristol Channel, storm-blown seabirds are occasionally found here, including shag, grey phalarope, and divers and grebes.
Cheddar Reservoir | Bird life
Thompson Water, Carr and Common is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Thetford in Norfolk. Most of it is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust as Thompson Common. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Norfolk Valley Fens Special Area of Conservation. It is crossed by the Great Eastern Pingo Trail Local Nature Reserve. This grassland site in the valley of a tributary of the River Wissey has a number of pingos, damp and water filled depressions formed by the melting of ice at the end of the last glaciation. It also has a lake called Thompson Water which, together with its surrounding reedswamp, is important for breeding birds.
Thompson Water, Carr and Common | Introduction
On the surrounding mountains you can find cultivated fields and pastures, and the woods are habitats for a number of critters (squirrel, dormouse, hedgehog, hare, badger, fox, wolf, wild boar, pheasant, partridge, and many birds) and where a great variety of trees and flowers grow (aromatic herbs, broom, beech, oak, pine, chestnut, spruce, larch).
Bobbio | The river Trebbia and the valley
Pulborough Brooks is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Pulborough in West Sussex. It is part of the Pulborough Brooks nature reserve, which is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is also part of the Arun Valley Ramsar site, Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area. These wet meadows are crossed by a network of ditches, some of which have a rich aquatic flora and invertebrate fauna, including several which are nationally rare. The site is internationally important for wintering wildfowl and many species of birds breed there, such as lapwing, snipe, garganey, yellow wagtail, grey partridge, skylark, reed bunting and barn owl.
Pulborough Brooks | Introduction
Ouse Washes is a linear 2,513.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Protection Area under the European Union Birds Directive, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 186 hectares between March and Ely is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, and another area near Chatteris is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust manages another area near Welney.
Ouse Washes | Introduction
Some 225 plant species are present on the site, including pyramidal orchid and a colony of over 5000 bee orchid believed to be the largest group of this type in South East England. Birds such as reed bunting, skylark, meadow pipit, linnet have been recorded and the marsh is also an important site for spring visitors. Grassland provides a good habitat for the grass snake. Mammals seen on the marsh include pipistrelle bats. The Small River Lea provides an important habitat for the water vole
Rammey Marsh | Wildlife
Rainworth Water LNR was once part of Rufford Colliery, which created the spoil heaps that form a bowl around the watercourse. The spoil heaps were restored after the colliery closure and the planting of thousands of broadleaved trees and other woodland species have stabilised the ground. The Water itself is a wetland habitat consisting of artificial pools, shallows and meanders that appear natural and support dragonflies and damselflies. Marshy areas have developed naturally alongside the watercourse since restoration, as have open grassland and dense scrubland. A colony of dingy skipper butterflies, which are rare within Nottinghamshire, inhabit the open grasslands.
Rainworth Water | Nature Reserve
Birds include mallard, coot, red warbler and sedge warbler. Kingfisher are present and waders are reported such as redshank, common sandpiper and lapwing. Dragonflies are present including the relatively scarce hawker and white-legged damselfly.
Old River Severn, Upper Lode | Fauna
Ponds support the rare water violet and a rich invertebrate fauna such as great crested and smooth newts, the water spider and eight species of dragonfly. Birds include the great-spotted woodpecker and nuthatch. The reserve is in two parts on either side of London Road. The southern part is accessed from The Roundings, next to the College Arms public house. It adjoins Balls Wood, which is also managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The northern area is off Heath Lane, opposite the pub.
Hertford Heath nature reserve | Introduction
Willow tits are in steep decline in the UK, disappearing completely from many areas, but numbers are increasing in the Dearne Valley, particularly at Old Moor, where a breeding density of 6.7 territories per square km (17.4 territories per square mile) was the highest in the locality. The post-industrial landscaping and planting in the area have created a suitable habitat for the species containing willow, alder and clumps of bramble close to water and linked by linear features such as railways, canals and streams. Cetti's warbler and bearded tit have recently colonised the reserve, and up to three pairs of barn owls breed there.
RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor | Birds
The parish includes a number of important areas for local wildlife. Of particular significance is the extensive wetland area in the Kennet Valley which has been created following the extraction of gravel from what are currently lakes, and is now a haven for a wide range of water birds and other protected bird species, such as the nightingale, and the red kite; together with kestrels, buzzards and peregrine falcons, the latter of which can often be seen on thermals enjoying this habitat of the Kennet Meadows.
Burghfield | Flora and fauna
Ambion is the name of a deserted village by a headwater of the Saint rising in Cadeby. It is recorded as Anabein (ca 1270), Anne Beame in the Hollinshead Chronicle (1576), Anbein (1622) and Amyon by John Hutton (1788). The name seems to derive from Old English Āna-bēam, a One-Beam bridge, probably the hamlet's means of crossing the stream towards Market Bosworth. It is claimed as the traditional site of the Battle of Bosworth. Barwell, Barwalle (1043), Barewelle (1086), sometimes pronounced ‘Barrull’. The first element is Old English bār, ‘boar’. Old English wella signifies a spring or stream In west Leicestershire, it seems to mean the stream issuing from a spring rather than the spring itself.
River Sence | Names related to the watercourses
Common lizards have been seen at River Common and Parkhurst Farm. Slow-worms are found in most places. Buzzards returned to the area several years ago and breed regularly. A full habitat survey of the parish is being undertaken.
Tillington, West Sussex | Wildlife
Declared a Local Nature Reserve in 2006 by Sandy Town Council and designated an 'Urban Fringe' site, The Riddy is a species rich habitat, being described by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as "an oasis of wild flowers, bird song and a wonderful view among a sea of arable fields". In the meadows many different grasses and other plants grow, such as cuckoo flower ("Cardamine pratensis"). The pond, stream and ditches support aquatic plants, such as arrowhead ("Sagittaria sagittifolia"), celery-leaved buttercup ("Ranunculus sceleratus"), purple-loosestrife ("Lythrum salicaria"), water-plantain ("Alisma plantago-aquatica") and duckweed. Chub ("Squalius cephalus") and carp can both be found in the stream, along with the nationally protected water vole ("Arvicola amphibius").
The Riddy | Local Nature Reserve
As the water quality has improved, otters have returned to the river in numbers such that fishing lakes now require fencing to protect stocks. Paxton Pits nature reserve near St Neots has hides from which otters are regularly seen. Coarse fishing is still popular, with a wide range of fish in the river, but it is many years since large sturgeon were caught. Seals have been recorded as far upstream as Bedford. Huntingdonshire seems to be the most popular area for breeding animals in recent years.
River Great Ouse | Wildlife
The site consists of a steep-sided lake and adjoining strips of scrubland and patches of trees. The SSSI is of major national importance for the gadwall, which visit it in winter, and is also made use of by other waterfowl such as the northern shoveler, the Smew, the tufted duck, the common pochard and the common goldeneye. It is also visited in winter by the great crested grebe, the great cormorant and the Eurasian coot. The terrestrial habitat supports many birds including the Eurasian treecreeper, the garden warbler, the great spotted woodpecker and the Eurasian hobby. There are a few areas of rough grassland supporting such species as lesser knapweed, wild carrot, meadow vetchling and common bird's-foot trefoil.
Wraysbury No 1 Gravel Pit | SSSI
The Afon Clun and Nant Dowlais contain minnow, stickleback, stone loach, lamprey, and eel. The species European bullhead ("Cottus gobio") were also present, until a pollution incident in 2000 CE (see "Industry" below). In addition, the Clun contains roach and chub. Among the species in the flood-meadows adjacent to the Afon Clun is the common orchid. The river's banks contain broadleaf woodland as well as invasive plants such as Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed. Several species of dragonfly and damselfly hunt on the river. Other species present include bats, badger, dormouse, otter, great crested newt and the marsh fritillary butterfly, of which bats, dormouse, otter and great crested newt are European Protected Species.
Afon Clun | Diversity
In the 1980s and 1990s Little egrets were to be seen on mudflats at low tide, and more recently large numbers of cattle egrets have been found on the River Amble and near Burniere, and have now become sufficiently common not to require corroborating evidence when reporting sightings. Upstream and on several of its tributaries, kingfishers can be seen, while the Cornwall Wildlife Trust reserve at Hawkes Wood is noted for nuthatches and tawny owls.
River Camel | Birds