Saturday, July 6, 2013

The Wildlife of Hampstead Heath

By Monica Frank


Combining the beauty of both worlds, Hampstead Heath not only has the cultural hustle and bustle of London but also glorious landscapes. It holds everything you would expect from the capital regarding things to do and places to visit but without losing the luscious greenery. With plenty of attractions such as a zoo, swimming pools and sports facilities there is something for everyone.

UK Biodiversity

Biodiversity and environmental awareness to nature may not be something that is normally associated to London and busy cities; Hampstead Heath is an exception to this, producing some of the main creatures that have been identified by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Over recent years the City of London has worked towards furthering this plan and enticing more species.

Sports for All

With many other boroughs in London unable to cater for sporting needs due to the vastly dense populations, Hampstead Heath excels on this level. The borough has several facilities for a wide variety of sporting needs and encourages a healthier lifestyle amongst its population.

Leisure Pools

Swimming facilities in Hampstead Heath offer a vast range of open air pools, something of a rarity in Great Britain. The Ladies' and Men's Ponds are open every day and there is also the Mixed Pond and the Parliament Hill Lido all of which are visited by many people throughout the year.

Landscape

Although much of the original heath and agricultural land has disappeared, there is still a wide variety of landscapes featured. Within its open spaces, Hampstead Heath displays woodland, water, hedgerows and many other scenic views.

Grass

Whilst heathland is rare to find in many parts of the country, Hampstead Heath still shows signs of maintaining its namesake. Not only does it feature different types of grassland, heath and bedstraw, it is also hoping to extend its natural growth further in the future.

Trees

It is hard to imagine that London is the home to over 800 species of tree, let alone that this many can be found just in Hampstead Heath. The borough even features some rare tree breeds such as the Midland Hawthorn and the Wild Service Tree.

Fungi

Similar to the variety of trees, the borough also features over 350 species of fungi. These include some of the rarer breeds found in Britain such as the Broad Leaved Helleborine and the Bracket Fungus.

Bugs

Spiders may not be everyone's cup of tea but they are vital to maintaining a healthy countryside, and Hampstead Heath is home to a quarter of Britain's spider family. Visit the ponds and you are also likely to see one of the seventeen known species of dragon and damselfly, or you may even see some of the twenty three types of beautiful butterfly that feature in the borough.

Birds

There have been more than 180 varieties of birds being spotted in Hampstead Heath with species such as the Jackdaw, the Great Crested Grebe and the Whitethroat being amongst some of the most impressive.

Animals

Amongst the other wildlife featured throughout Hampstead Heath, there are several different types of creatures to be seen to such as foxes, moles and the graceful Muntjac deer. If winged animals are more to your liking, Hampstead Heath is home to lots of species of bats such as Daubenton's Bat, Noctule Bat and many more!




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