SOME OF OUR WILDLIFE
The reserve and southern marshes provide valuable habitat for some incredibly rare species
Shrill Carder Bee
​The UK's rarest bumblebee so named because of it's high-pitched buzz.
Distinguished from the Common Carder bee by the black band that runs from wing-base to wing-base through the ginger thorax. Due to habitat loss it is found at just seven sites across the country!
Skylark
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​A rapidly declining ground nesting bird found on the red list for birds in the UK due to habitat loss. Unfortunately Cory have covered the Borax Fields where Skylark nested with rubble.
Barn Owls
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​We are the only site within Greater London to support breeding Barn Owls.
Norfolk (Green-eyed) Hawker
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​A nationally rare dragonfly with a stronghold in Norfolk. Classified as endangered and legally protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). It favours slow-flowing, reed-fringed ditches and ponds. Crossness Nature Reserve therefore provides excellent potential as a breeding site.
Southern Migrant Hawker
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A scarce migrant species that has been breeding around the Thames Estuary since 2020. Distinguished by the male's bright blue colouring for which it gets its alternative name of Blue-eyed Hawker.
Lesser Emperor
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​A scarce dragonfly, recorded at Crossness for the last few years. Easily identifiable courtesy of the blue colouration near the top of the abdomen and the fact that it is smaller and duller than the common Emperor Dragonfly.
Water Vole
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Britain's largest type of vole and one of our most threatened mammals due to habitat loss and predation by the American mink. Often mistaken for a rat, they play a vital role in river ecosystems because their burrowing and feeding create conditions for other plants and animals to thrive. They are a priority species and listed as endangered on both the Great Britain and England Red Lists for mammals.