Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths is an biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) on the northern outskirts of Sandhurst in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. Part of the SSSI is Wildmoor Heath nature reserve, which is managed by the

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) is a Wildlife Trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part ...

. and the SSSI is part of Thames Basin Heaths

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

Geography

Wildmoor Heath is situated on a slope and features wet and dry lowland heath and valley bog, plus pine and broadleaved woodland.

History

In 1975 the site was designated a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). Wildmoor Heath nature reserve was formed in 1998 by combining land at Edgbarrow Woods, Owlsmoor Bog, and Wildmoor Bottom.

Fauna

The site has the following animals:

Mammals

Red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

* Roe deer *

Dexter cattle The Dexter is an Irish breed of small cattle. It originated in the eighteenth century in County Kerry, in south-western Ireland, and appears to be named after a man named Dexter, who was factor of the estates of Lord Hawarden on Valentia Isl ...

Reptiles and amphibians

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Vipera berus ''Vipera berus'', also known as the common European adder Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . and the common European viper, ...

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Grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non- venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecie ...

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Anguis fragilis The common slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a species of legless lizard native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple, steelworm, and hazelworm. The "blind" in blindworm refers to the lizar ...

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Viviparous lizard The viviparous lizard or common lizard (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara'') is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other non-marine reptile species, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it give ...

Birds

Common chiffchaff The common chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic. It is a bird migration, migratory ...

Great spotted woodpecker The great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major'') is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found acros ...

European green woodpecker The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis''), also known as the yaffle and sometimes called a nickle, is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent ...

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northweste ...

Common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. Distribution and habitat The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution li ...

European stonechat The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relative ...

Willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongl ...

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...

Woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non-bird migrati ...

Eurasian bullfinch The Eurasian bullfinch, common bullfinch or bullfinch (''Pyrrhula pyrrhula'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as the bullfinch (English regional, Shropshire: plum bird), as it ...

Eurasian hobby The Eurasian hobby (''Falco subbuteo'') or just hobby, is a small, slim falcon. It belongs to a group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus '' Hypotriorchis''. Taxonomy and systematics The first formal description of the Eurasian hobby ...

Common kingfisher The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...

Invertebrates

Flora

The site has the following flora:

Trees

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

*''

Fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some Subtropics, subtropical specie ...

'' *

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

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Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It ...

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Malus sylvestris ''Malus sylvestris'', the European crab apple, also known as the European wild apple or simply the crab apple, is a species of the genus ''Malus''. Its scientific name means "forest apple", reflecting its habitat. It is native to western Eurasia ...

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Sorbus torminalis ''Torminalis'' is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. The genus was formerly included within the genus ''Sorbus'' as the Section (biology), section ''Torminaria'', but the simple-leafed species traditionally classified in ''Sorbus'' ...

Plants

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Erica tetralix ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe. Description It is a perennial subshrub with glandular leaves in whorls of four (whence the name). Appearing in summe ...

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Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid s ...

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Drosera rotundifolia ''Drosera rotundifolia'', the round-leaved sundew, roundleaf sundew, or common sundew, is a carnivorous species of flowering plant that grows in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribut ...

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Drosera intermedia ''Drosera intermedia'', commonly known as the oblong-leaved sundew, spoonleaf sundew, or spatulate leaved sundew, is an insectivorous plant species belonging to the sundew genus. It is a temperate or tropical species native to Europe, southeaste ...

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Rhynchospora alba ''Rhynchospora alba'', the white beak-sedge, is a plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a tufted herbaceous perennial around 50 cm tall, with white inflorescences that flower in August. The fruit of the sedge is a small achene with a ...

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Carex pulicaris ''Carex'' is a vast genus of over 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' may ...

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Narthecium ossifragum ''Narthecium ossifragum'', commonly known as bog asphodel, Lancashire asphodel or bastard asphodel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Nartheciaceae. It is native to Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about in elev ...

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Pinguicula vulgaris ''Pinguicula'', commonly known as butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they ...

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Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

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Eriophorum angustifolium ''Eriophorum angustifolium'', commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soils, in op ...

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Succisa pratensis ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas '' Scabiosa columbaria'' ( ...

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Scutellaria minor ''Scutellaria minor'', the lesser skullcap, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. Description ''Scutellaria minor'' grows to tall, with narrowly ovate leaves arranged oppositely. Flowers are borne in the axils of the upper le ...

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Hypericum elodes ''Hypericum elodes'', commonly known as marsh St John's-wort, is a species of flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is native to Western Europe. Description ''Hypericum elodes'' is a greyish perennial that forms mats, wh ...

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Lychnis flos-cuculi ''Silene flos-cuculi'' (syn. ''Lychnis flos-cuculi''), the ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and Siberia and has been introduced to North America. Description ''Silene flos-c ...

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References

{{SSSIs Berks Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire