Wildlife at Lepe Country Park

Lepe has a wonderful mix of habitats for you to explore; discover what lives along the shore, bird watch over the North Solent Nature Reserve and Dark Water Estuary, spot numerous butterflies attracted to our wildflower meadows or stroll along the cliff top lined with Monterey and Corsican Pines.

Lepe has a series of designations protecting its vulnerable habitats and species. The mudflats and shingle cliffs are within the North Solent ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’ (SSSI).

Lepe is flanked to the east and west by low lying areas of the North Solent Nature Reserve. Areas of the park are also protected under Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and the Ramsar Convention for wetland habitats.

Black Headed Gull - our most numerous sea bird with a dark chocolate coloured head at this time of year
Common Tern - can be seen patrolling the sea looking for fish
Cormorant - a large black bird often seen resting on groynes and buoys
Curlew - very long curved beak for probing the mud
Little Egret - a small heron found fishing along the shore and brackish waters of the dark water estuary
Oystercatcher - distinctive black and white bird is most often seen in winter, however you may see one probing the sand for worms and other sea creatures
Ringed Plover - small wader with black mask and collar and orange legs found picking along the shoreline

Black Headed Gull - our most numerous sea bird with a white head and small dark spot behind each eye at this time of year
Brent Goose - large flocks escaping the harsh winter of Siberia, grazing along sea edge
Cormorant - a large black bird often seen resting on groynes and buoys
Curlew - very long curved beak for probing the mud
Dunlin - a small brown wader, can be quite numerous
Grey Plover - a visitor from artic Russia it has a striking grey and silver speckled back
Little Egret - a small heron found fishing along the shore and brackish waters of the dark water estuary
Oystercatcher - distinctive black and white bird, found probing the sand for worms and other sea creatures
Pied Wagtail - often seen flitting around the car park with its long tail bobbing
Ringed Plover - small wader with black mask and collar and orange legs found picking along the shoreline
Turnstone - small well camouflaged birds that turn stones looking for sandhoppers and other small sea creatures

Kids Corner

Make your own spotter jotter

When you see a bird, have a go at drawing it and use books to help you work out what it is. You can also look up where it lives and what it likes to eat and record it in your own book.

Download your Spotter Jotter here 94kb pdf

Print out the cover and pages and staple them together to make your jotter book.