Watermead Country Park Environment and Nature

Watermead Country Park is a haven for wildlife, offering a wide range of wetland habitats including extensive reedbeds, wet woodland, wild flower meadows, rough grassland, open water and ponds.

Over 200 bird species have been recorded on the park, including notable winter visitors such as wigeon, goosander, fieldfare, redwing and bittern.  In the warmer months 12 species of warbler have been recorded along with swallows, swifts, sand martins, common terns and hobbys. Resident species including kingfisher, great crested grebe, green woodpecker, tree creeper and water rail.

The wetland areas and wildflower meadows are an attractive habitat for many species of insects.  Visitors can see a variety of butterflies and moths in the meadows during the summer months, alongside dragonflies and damselflies which can be spotted flying amongst the reedbeds and over the ponds.  The insects provide a valuable food source for birds in the day, while during the evening it is the turn of the bats. Flying low over the water or above the tree line, these nocturnal mammals seek out insects such as moths and gnats.

Watermead Country Park provides a home for a variety of mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, weasels and stoats, foxes, deer and otter.

Visitors to the country park can witness much of this wildlife in the Reedbed Nature Reserve which can be found at the north end of the park. The reserve includes four bird hides and a bird feeding station, all of which provide a great place to observe wildlife and enjoy the tranquillity of the countryside.

 

Sand martins at Watermead Country Park North

This species is included in the long list of globally threatened or declining species.  In Europe the sand martin has been identified as a species of European concern (Category 3) on account of significant declines in populations.  The most important factors affecting the species include a loss of suitable nesting banks, disturbance to colonies, loss of roost sites due to drainage and scrub encroachment and loss of feeding sites such as wet meadows river margins, filled ponds and other wetland habitats.  The site here at Watermead helps to address some of these issues.

At Watermead you’ll find an artificial sand martin ‘wall’ built in 1993 with the physical and financial assistance of Ken Goodrich and the Birstall Birdwatching Club.  Sandmartins have since been regular breeding visitors. 

The bird hide, opposite the wall, has been named after Ken Goodrich (1932 – 2020) who was a passionate and dedicated advocate for developing Watermead Country Park as a great place for birds.  He was committed to citizen science and sharing the joy of nature with people.  

An invitation to help us collect data

Discover more about sand martins and the work of Ken Goodrich by visiting the hide.  You can also get involved in improving our understanding of sand martins by helping to collect data on the birds – and have fun at the same time!   The sand martin wall can be found in the reed bed nature reserve, opposite the bird hide.  Download our sand martin data collection sheet and take this with you when you visit.  You can log data about which holes are most used by the sand martins and how many visits are made to each one.

Guidance on how to submit your findings can be found on the sheet. 

 

 

*Please note: BBQ’s are prohibited on site. Thank you for your cooperation.