Local Wildlife Site

Wildlife

The woodland is dominated by oak, with hornbeam and beech locally abundant, and a few fine old field maples. Holly forms a dense understorey in places. Elsewhere a more diverse shrub layer includes Midland hawthorn, field maple, hazel, crab apple, elm and rowan. The ground flora includes wood speedwell, stinking iris, wood sorrel, goldilocks buttercup, dog's mercury, wood melick, bluebell and broad buckler-fern. Several of these plants are normally only present in ancient woodland, suggesting some woodland fragments here pre-date the common's recent historic management as wood-pasture. Butterflies occurring in the woodland include white-letter and purple hairstreaks. Breeding birds include sparrowhawk, tawny owl, cuckoo, stock dove, willow warbler, nuthatch and treecreeper. Several clearings support acid grassland. These are dominated by red fescues or wavy hair-grass, with mat-grass in places, the latter rather rare in London. Typical wildflowers of acid soils can be seen, such as harebell, sheep's sorrel, mouse-ear hawkweed, tormentil, heath bedstraw, heath groundsel and common sedge. The largest of the three water bodies, known as Jack's Lake or Beech Hill Lake, is managed for angling, but contains some wetland vegetation and supports common waterfowl. Daubenton's bats are often seen here, feeding low over the water. The two smaller ponds have much richer plant communities, which include broad-leaved pondweed, water-starwort, lesser spearwort, water forget-me-not, nodding bur-marigold and branched bur-reed. The ponds support large populations of amphibians, which in turn attract grass snakes.

Facilities

Information (on signs). The London LOOP crosses the site following the Dollis Valley Greenwalk.