Wildlife

Burgess Field is home to a huge variety of wildlife, largely untroubled by the many regular users of the area.  Muntjac are often spotted roaming the reserve, and barn owls can occasionally be seen quartering the grassland area at dusk.

Birdwatchers have noted blackcap, chiffchaff, lesser whitethroat, song thrush, linnet, goldfinch, chaffinch, green and greater spotted woodpeckers, woodcock, snipe and willow warbler, as well as the ubiquitous blackbird, wren and robin.

Burgess Field is also home to many butterflies, with marbled white, speckled wood, orange tip, brimstone, small tortoiseshell, meadow brown, ringlet, small white and small heath the most regularly seen, and with red admiral, comma, common blue, small skipper and peacock the less frequent visitors.

In spring 2025 we started a reptile survey.  There are three possible species: slow worm, grass snake, and common lizard.  The survey entails placement of artificial refugia in carefully selected spots (sunny patches away from footpaths). They create a warm space underneath, where slow worms and grass snakes can warm themselves.  They are surveyed by lifting them quickly and carefully, counting any slowworms or grass snakes present, and ideally taking a quick photo.

The relatively rare brown hairstreak butterfly has also been seen here in autumn 2024, and we will be conducting a survey to try and locate any eggs.

A huge variety of wildflowers abound across the whole site, but the centrepiece is our flower meadow, which we cut, rake and sow every autumn.  Here you can find viper’s bugloss, cowslip, ragged robin, lady’s bedstraw, common knapweed, meadow cranesbill, mallow, meadow vetchling, poppy, oxeye daisy, birdsfoot trefoil, red clover, pyramidal orchid and many, many more. There is also a wonderful seasonal display of ever-spreading clumps of snowdrops and daffodils, and primroses are starting to spread along the newly laid hedges.