The Sugar Mill Ponds is home to a rich variety of plants, animals, birds and insects. Much of the surrounding area is intensively farmed and this coupled with the fact that ponds are becoming rarer in the countryside, makes the Sugar Mill Ponds very much an ‘oasis’ for wildlife.
Over 70 species of birds have been spotted at the site ranging from wrens to whitethroats, blackcaps to barn owls and redwings to reed buntings. Also let’s not forget our resident great crested grebes, herons, ducks and of course our pair of beautiful mute swans.
If you are lucky you may catch a glimpse of kingfisher, grass snake, bank vole, dragonflies, or hear the cuckoo in spring as you walk around. Early summer evenings are also a good time to visit the Ponds for seeing bats (4 species), or for hearing the blood-curdling screech of a barn owl.
Much of the site is carpeted with the blue of speedwells and forget-me-nots through the spring and early summer with campions and giant teasels coming on later. Whatever the time of year you’re bound to encounter an abundance of wildlife at the Sugar Mill Ponds – who knows, if you’re really lucky you may even spot the wild man of the ponds also know as the warden!
