Spotlight on autumn wildlife
- Lee Valley
- Sep 1
- 5 min read
As summer slips away and we head into the cooler and colourful autumn months the parks flora and fauna once again changes - read on to find our more about the park's autumn highlights.
Autumn migration
Autumn is a time of movement for many of our bird species. As summer draws to a close our summer migrants begin their journey back to warmer wintering grounds and our first overwintering birds start to arrive. Keep an eye on our Wildlife Sightings page for the seasonal highlights. Sites with insect-rich muddy margins, so tempting for wading birds, such as Cornmill Meadows, Amwell Nature Reserve, WaterWorks Centre nature reserve and Hall Marsh Scrape are always worth a speculative visit.
By late September, Redwing arrive from their Scandinavian breeding grounds. The distinctive red patches along their flanks and underwings make them stand out - especially when they’re feasting on berries or probing fields for worms. They’re often seen alongside Fieldfare, another charismatic winter thrush.
Flora and Fauna highlights
Bittern
The Lee Valley is an important site for wintering Bittern, a secretive buff-brown member of the heron family. Bittern spend much of their time hidden in reedbeds where they feed on fish such as Rudd and Perch.
Bittern return to the valley from September onwards, one of the best places to see them is from the Wildlife Discovery Centre at Fishers Green in River Lee Country Park. Volunteers and staff are on hand to help you spot one – they are particularly well camouflaged amongst the golden-brown autumnal reeds.
Once extinct in the UK, concerted efforts from a number of conservation organisations has meant that numbers have now increased to over 283 booming males in 2025. ‘Booming’ is the name given to the call the male makes to attract a mate and mark its territory. While breeding hasn’t been recorded in the Lee Valley yet, the reedbeds are improving every year… so watch this space!
We will be hosting the annual Bittern Roost Watch event on 18 January 2026 where you can join us to find out more about these amazing birds and have a chance to see one roosting in the reeds.
Barn Owl
If you spot a pale, silent figure gliding over the grasslands at dusk, it’s probably a Barn Owl. With exceptional hearing and soundless flight, these graceful hunters seek out voles and mice in the twilight. Its Latin name is Tyto Alba – which is quite literally – white owl.
You may notice Barn Owl boxes that have been placed on trees and poles around the park. These boxes supplement natural roosting and nesting features, such as hollow trees and old barns, which are becoming more scarce. Each year a licenced bird ringer checks our boxes and rings any young, which are known as owlets and are initially white and fluffy before developing the distinctive heart shaped face. This helps us to learn more about the population in the park and their movements.
Water Vole
Over the summer Water Voles have maintained their territories and may have reared up to five litters. As the days grow shorter, breeding stops and the Water Voles start to prepare for winter. Autumn sees their focus turn to fattening themselves up for the winter months, storing energy for cold periods which they spend in torpor – these are periods of dormancy to conserve energy when food is scarce. They will also start to create food stores in their burrows that they can eat during the winter months.
In partnership with the Herts and Middlesex Water Vole and Invasive Species project, we undertake the second Key Sites Survey of the year on our important Water Vole sites Silvermeade and Cornmill Meadows. These provide a useful overview of how the Water Voles have fared throughout the breeding season.
If you would like to find out more about these charismatic animals why not book onto our Water Voles and Wetlands event on 14 September 2025 - see event detail >
Floating Pennywort
The invasive non-native plant, Floating Pennywort is native to the Americas and has become established in the waterways of the UK having rapidly spread from garden ponds. It grows at a prolific rate – up to 20cms in a day - creating dense mats, reducing sunlight and depleting oxygen, in turn killing native fish, invertebrates and plants.
There is a fantastic project in the River Lea Catchment to eradicate Floating Pennywort which has been pioneered in the River Stort by Whoosh Canoes. The project is lead by Paddle UK, The Angling Trust and supported by partners including local paddle clubs, statutory bodies and other agencies, utility companies and many volunteers. They organise tasks where Floating Pennywort is removed from the river by canoeists and paddle boarders supported by volunteers on the bank. All fragments of the plant need to be removed as it can quickly recolonise from just a small fragment. Autumn is a good time to clear areas as waterbirds will have stopped nesting.
Habitats and their management
Reedbed management
Reedbeds are a hugely important habitat in the Lee Valley and are home to a wide range of species including reedbed specialists like Bittern and Reed Bunting. If left unmanaged they would eventually turn to woodland. During the autumn months management of reedbeds can start to take place as the nesting season has finished. Willow scrub that has started to establish is removed and in some areas swathes of reedbed will be cut and removed to encourage new fresh growth and prevent the development of a deep layer of leaf litter. The reedbed in front of the Wildlife Discovery Centre has channels cut in each year, this creates fantastic edge habitat for Bittern to feed with the added bonus that it helps them be seen by visitors too!
Ditch management
Ditches need regular management otherwise they become clogged with vegetation and eventually may dry up. After the breeding season management can take place, the Rangers are careful to programme work sensitively, working on areas in rotation so that habitat is always retained on site for wildlife to use. By maintaining a balance of open water and emergent vegetation, ditches provide excellent habitat for species such as Water Voles, dragonflies and Grass Snake.
Surveys
Wetland Bird Survey
The Wetland Bird Survey or WeBS as it is known is a long-running national survey organised by the BTO, undertaken monthly to monitor waterbird populations in the UK. Counts are undertaken on the majority of waterbodies found the Lee Valley, where volunteers note every wetland bird they see, providing invaluable data to assist with our management. The counts can take place all year, but the core dates are from September to March.
Upcoming planned events
Throughout the year the park runs special wildlife themed events. Up coming events include
Know the latest
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