This site is made up of the mid-section of the River Beam valley, with adjoining open spaces. These extend across the boundary into neighbouring Havering, where the site is called Mid Beam. The site also has a lake and together these elements offer a variety of high quality habitats. There is free public access to most of the site, which is very popular for informal recreation.
Local Wildlife Site
Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation
Mid Beam Valley in Dagenham and Dagenham East Lake
Borough: Barking and Dagenham
Grade: Borough Grade I
Access: Free public access (all/most of site)
Area: 35.87 ha
Description
Wildlife
Some stretches of the river have dense vegetation at the edges and on the banks, dominated by branched bur-reed with smaller amounts of water figwort and fool's watercress. Submerged vegetation includes curled and broad-leaved pondweeds. Kingfishers are seen regularly, and reed warblers and reed buntings breed here. The flood plain has been partly worked for gravel, leaving a wide diversity of habitats, with wet and dry grassland, tall flowers and scrub, with one small area of willow woodland, a scarce habitat in London. The sizeable Dagenham East Lake is much used by anglers and supports breeding great crested grebes; it attracts tufted duck, pochard and shoveler in winter. A number of smaller pools support a diverse wetland plant community, including marsh ragwort at what is thought to be its only site in the borough. Drier grassland and wasteland habitats support breeding skylarks and a wide variety of migrating birds, which seem to follow the open grassland of the Dagenham Corridor.Facilities
Fishing.
No photo yet available for this site
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