Uxbridge Moor is a nature reserve managed by the London Wildlife Trust in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. [1]
London Wildlife Trust (LWT), founded in 1981, is the local nature conservation charity for Greater London. It is one of 47 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, each of which is a local nature conservation charity for its area. The Trust aims to protect London's wildlife and wild spaces, and it manages over 40 nature reserves in Greater London. One of its campaigns is to turn London's gardens into mini-nature reserves, and it provides education services for schools. Local groups work on reserves and organise walks.
Uxbridge is a suburban town in west London, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. 15.4 miles (24.8 km) west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbridge historically formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex, and was a significant local commercial centre from an early time. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century it expanded and increased in population, becoming a municipal borough in 1955, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. It is a significant retail and commercial centre, and is the location of Brunel University and the Uxbridge campus of Buckinghamshire New University. The town is close to the boundary with Buckinghamshire, which is locally the River Colne.
The London Borough of Hillingdon is a large borough located in Greater London, England which had a population of 273,936 according to the 2011 Census. It was formed from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the county of Middlesex. Today, Hillingdon is home to Heathrow Airport and Brunel University, and is the second largest of the 32 London boroughs by area.
The site is on an island in the River Colne. It has two meadows and willow woodland. There are common plant species such as oat grass, couch grass, nettles, but also some rarer ones such as hammer sedge. Birds include kingfishers, and butterflies the speckled wood. At the northern end there is an area of damp grassland. [1]
The Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. Just over half its course is in south Hertfordshire. Downstream, the Colne is the boundary between Buckinghamshire and London and finally between corners of Berkshire and Surrey. On leaving Hertfordshire, the watercourse splits off into several separate branches, a few of which rejoin it, and its main branch flows into the River Thames on the reach above Penton Hook Lock at Staines-upon-Thames.
The speckled wood is a butterfly found in and on the borders of woodland areas throughout much of the Palearctic ecozone. The species is subdivided into multiple subspecies, including Pararge aegeria aegeria, Pararge aegeria tircis, Pararge aegeria oblita, and Pararge aegeria insula. The color of this butterfly varies between subspecies. The existence of these subspecies is due to variation in morphology down a gradient corresponding to a geographic cline. The background of the wings ranges from brown to orange, and the spots are either pale yellow, white, cream, or a tawny orange. The speckled wood feeds on a variety of grass species. The males of this species exhibit two types of mate locating behaviors: territorial defense and patrolling. The proportion of males exhibiting these two strategies changes based on ecological conditions. The monandrous female must choose which type of male can help her reproduce successfully. Her decision is heavily influenced by environmental conditions.
There is access by a bridge off St John's Road, at north end of Riverside Way Industrial Estate. [1]
