Here are a few of my favourite places to watch wildlife in London/Greater London:
Barnes Common - 50ha of scrub, woodland, neutral grassland, heathland and acid grassland mosaic.
Bedfont Lakes Country Park - lakes, ponds, reed beds, woodland and meadows; a brilliant spot for great crested grebes all year round and warblers in spring/summer. Great for wainscot moths whose caterpillars feed on Common Reed and home to one of only 2 known colonies of Goat Moth in London. See the flickr group for some great photos.
Box Hill and Headley Heath - part of the Surrey Hills, brilliant for butterflies.
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Box Hill[/caption][caption id="attachment_410" align="aligncenter" width="682"]
Chequered Skipper at Box Hill[/caption]Bushy park - My local patch. 445ha including 130ha of Lowland Acid Grassland; an important habitat for conservation and one of the few remaining areas in London. Great for kestrels, woodpeckers (all 3 UK species) and kingfishers all year round and breeding skylark in spring/summer. Also home to about 320 Red and Fallow Deer; brilliant to watch/hear the Autumn rut - from a distance!
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Fallow Deer stags in Bushy Park[/caption][caption id="attachment_338" align="aligncenter" width="682"]
White stag in Bushy Park[/caption][caption id="attachment_338" align="aligncenter" width="591"]
Red Deer stag roaring in Bushy Park[/caption]Crane Park - great for kingfishers and water vole that live along the River Crane running through the park.
Ham common and Wood - small area of well drained acid soil with mixed Oak and Birch woodland with Holly, Rowan and bramble.
Ham Lands - an area of grassland, scrub and woodland lying adjacent to the River Thames extending from Kingston down to Richmond. Great for warblers and thrushes.
Kempton Nature Reserve - a small wetland; great for ducks, waders and even a bearded tit or two. A little haven in urban surroundings! Membership is £20 for 3 years - definitely worth it!
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View from the west hide[/caption][caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="682"]
View from the east hide[/caption][caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="682"]
Kingfisher at Kempton[/caption]London Wetland Centre - one of nine wetland reserves in the UK as part of the Wildfowl & Wetlands trust. Brilliant for bittern in winter as well as large numbers of shoveler and lapwing all year round and sand martins in spring/summer. Check out their latest wildlife sightings.
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Stonechat at London WWT[/caption]Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath - 450 ha of woodland, scrub, heathland, and mown recreation areas and there are also nine ponds. Good for a range of birds, dragonflies and damselflies. I particularity like the Plain; an area of managed acid grassland next to the Wimbledon windmill - beautiful in summer. They are currently managing this area to encourage nesting Skylarks to return.
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Bee Orchid on Putney Heath[/caption]Staines and Stanwell Moor - an area of neutral grassland located on the floodplain of the River Colne, grazed by cattle and horses since at least 1065! Fantastic for birds; passage birds such as Yellow Wagtail that feed among the grazing cattle, Stonechat, Whinchat; great for Hobby and warblers in spring/summer - including this year a couple of Grasshopper warblers! Also Little owl and Barn owl all year round and Short-eared owl over winter. And lots lots more...... A real gem!
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Ponies at Staines Moor[/caption](All photos taken by me)
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