Below is a post from Andrew Wood, South Heath Warden, from the Middlesex Wildlife Trust about nature on the heath. If you’d like to see what they do, or get involved, you can visit their website here.
During the autumn and winter The Heath, especially at the high points near the picnic benches, is a great place to see birds of prey. Two of our largest species the Red Kite and Buzzard can be seen wheeling over the heath, often seeming to appear and disappear spontaneously.
They are a similar size but the Red Kite has a forked tail, the Buzzard a wedge-shaped tail. Buzzards often make an atmospheric keening sound, the Kite’s voice is strangely high pitched for such a large bird. They can often be seen being mobbed by crows and other birds which are instinctively defensive around birds of prey.
Lower down butterflies like the Comma and Red Admiral can be seen well into the late autumn and in the case of the Red Admiral on mild days through the winter. At this time of the year, they are attracted to nectar from ivy and rotting fruit such as blackberries and crab apples.
Seed heads such as the tall distinctive Teasel will attract many smaller birds such as finches, particularly the Goldfinch sometimes in big groups called charms. Parties of tit species like Blue, Great, Coal and Long
Tailed will often be seen hunting for small insects in the more wooded and scrub areas.
While the weather remains quite mild and damp one of the Heath’s specialities, the legally protected Roman Snail, our largest species, can often be seen sliding along the ground.
Whatever the weather, the end of the year is an excellent time to get out on the Heath and see some fantastic wildlife.