Wildmoor Heath Crowthorne Berkshire

The site is jointly-owned by Bracknell Forest Council and the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and managed in partnership as a nature reserve. Traditional management practices such as grazing and scrub cutting are carried out to maintain the heathland for biodiversity.

You may also see wardens from the Thames Basin Heaths Partnership at the site during the bird nesting season (March to September). This is when ground nesting birds are most sensitive to disturbance by dogs and when we ask visitors to please stick to the paths and keep dogs on leads. These wardens have worked across the wider Thames Basin Heaths SPA (Special Protection Area) since 2015, monitoring visitor trends and engaging with visitors and local communities to promote conservation of the protected area and its rare wildlife

Information boards have been installed to keep visitors informed about the local wildlife along with new signage, fencing and footpath improvements. This will help to protect the many species found on the lowland heath.

Wildlife

Wildmoor Heath is one of the most valuable areas in Bracknell Forest borough for supporting and conserving biodiversity. Three rare birds; the woodlark, nightjar and Dartford warbler depend upon the lowland heath, which is protected by SPA and SSSI status.

Over 55 bird species have been recorded at Wildmoor, including the stonechat, tree pipit, whitethroat and reed bunting.

The following Bracknell Forest species have also been recorded at this site:

• devil’s-bit scabious
• ragged robin
• round-leaved sundew
• glow-worm
• silver-studded blue butterfly
• stag beetle
• bullfinch
• hobby
• kingfisher

Among the many invertebrates on the site is the raft spider, which lives in the moss-filled pools of the bog, and dragonflies and damselflies such as the keeled skimmer and red darter. Foxes and roe deer are also present, and are easiest to find at dawn and dusk, while a number of bat species can be seen on warm summer evenings as they catch insects around the edges of trees and bushes.