BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

Sefton:

E

Pasca

-W

s/A

amy;

coot:

Aamy;

fox:

Getty;

ow

:B

Baston/FLPA;

herons:

Terry

Wh

ttaker/2020VISION/NPL;

wagta

:Getty

Clockwisefromtop

left:Liverpool’sSefton

Parkis hometoa rich

varietyofspecies;

parksarevitalwildlife

corridorsforurban

foxes;tawnyowlsare

nowsettlingintown

greenspaces;pied

wagtailsroostinparks

atnight;unperturbed

heronsatSefton

Park’slake;common

park dweller, the coot.

December 2019 BBC Wildlife 17

WILDDECEMBER

parksfrequentlypacka widevarietyof

habitatsintoa smallarea.Withlawns,

treesandwaterallconsideredhighly

desirableparkfeatures,thejuxtaposition

ofthesedifferenthabitatseffectively

transformstheseurbangreenspaces

intovaluablenaturereserves.

Thiscomplexmosaicenablesthe

parks’faunatothenseamlesslymove

betweenareasofgrassland,woodland

andwetland.Urbanparkshaveeven

becomea refugefora numberofspecies

strugglinginthewidercountryside,such

asfrogs,hedgehogsandstagbeetles–

makingthemhometomuchmorethan

feralpigeons,ratsandsquirrels!

Soattractiveis thisgreenrealestate

embeddedinourtownandcities

that species like blackbirds and song