Welsh Harp (Brent Reservoir)

How to find: Enter from Birchen Grove Car Park, Kingsbury, NW9 7NX, GR TQ215871 (///pack.lovely.casino)

Wildlife to spot: Shelduck, gadwalls, shovelers and little grebes

Curiously named Welsh Harp – officially Brent Reservoir – is not your typical water-storage site. Spanning more than 100 hectares, it encompasses open water, marsh, reedbeds, woodland and meadows, as well as providing leisure opportunities including boating.

Though artificial – created in the 1830s to address water shortages in the Grand Union Canal system – the reservoir looks wonderfully natural. Mostly dug out of muds and clays, its shores are greened with vegetation that provides cover and nesting habitat for birds. And its shallow expanse attracts a host of dabbling and diving ducks, along with other waterbirds. Among those are the great crested grebe, for which the core 66 hectares of Welsh Harp was primarily designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1950.

A winter visit is a treat for birdwatchers, with wildfowl arriving from the continent and farther north. Expect to spot coots, shovelers, gadwalls, teal, mallards, pochards and tufted ducks. Goldeneyes, goosanders, smew and ringed plovers are relatively frequent visitors; snipe, and often jack snipe, lurk in the reedbeds, too. Cormorants and grey herons roost on rafts and islands, while wooded areas are home to flocks of finches and long-tailed tits. Today, the reservoir and its shoreline are managed by the Canal & River Trust. In recent years, London Wildlife Trust has helped develop a vision for conserving and improving this hidden gem, which deserves to be better known.

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Littleheath Woods

How to find: Off Foxearth Road, South Croydon, CR2 8EL, GR TQ352628 (///feel.these.army)

Wildlife to spot: Redwings, fieldfares, chaffinches, green woodpeckers

South-east of Croydon town centre stretches a string of emeralds – a series of parks and nature reserves linked by the London Outer Orbital Path (or LOOP). Among these gems, just south of Addington Hills park and London Wildlife Trust’s Bramley Bank reserve, stands this wonderfully undulating, leafy and visually varied site owned by Croydon Council and managed with the Friends of Littleheath Woods. Comprising mostly acidic woodland growing on pebble beds, its sessile and pedunculate oaks are interspersed with stands of sweet chestnut and grassy glades. At this time of year, you might catch glimpses of woodpeckers, finches and various tits through the bare branches of these deciduous trees, while winter visitors such as redwings and fieldfares feast on the berries of yew and holly that add zingy splashes of scarlet. It’s particularly magical in snow, perfect for sledging and for spotting the tracks of deer, badgers and foxes.

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Crossness Nature Reserve

How to find: From footpaths off Norman Road, Belvedere, DA17 6JY, GR TQ 494803 (///chose.pack.fend)

Wildlife to spot: Black-tailed godwits, shovelers, redshanks, lapwings, water voles

At first glance, the location of this compact reserve managed by Thames Water seems less than enticing, squeezed between industrial units, Erith Marshes, the extensive Crossness Sewage Treatment Works and the Thames. But don’t be fooled. It’s a thriving mix of grassland and wetland, including expansive reedbeds, which welcomes waterbirds flying up the river in search of shelter and exposed muds to feed on. Though the waterbirds and waders are the star attractions – look for black-tailed godwits, lapwings, perhaps even ringed plovers – it’s also a hotspot for water voles. You might even spot barn owls, kestrels and water rails. Be sure to return in summer, when it’s buzzing with both insects (including rare shrill carder bees) and breeding activity, with the likes of blackcaps, Cetti’s warblers, skylarks and stonechats rearing their families here.

Find out more about Crossness Nature Reserves

Still want more? London Wildlife Trust cares for and manages 36 free-to-access urban nature reserves all over London. Find one to visit today.