Where to spot wildlife in London

Richmond Park is a National Nature Reserve renowned for its abundance of local wildlife, including 350 free-roaming fallow deer and 300 wild red deer, which have called the park their home since 1637. The deer play an integral role in the upkeep of the park, maintaining the grassland and ensuring it’s kept open. The park is also home to a wide variety of birdlife (144 species recorded in the past 20 years), including ring-necked parakeets, Mandarin ducks and great spotted woodpeckers. There are more than 100,000 trees in the park, meaning it’s also an important area for bats. There are 17 species of bat in the UK, and 11 of them can be found in Richmond Park.

Walthamstow Wetlands is a 211-hectare site recognised as an internationally-important nature reserve and reservoir where you can connect with nature without going too far from the city centre. You'll find a variety of wildlife here, from overwintering wildfowl like pochard and gadwall, breeding birds such as little egrets, grey herons, and tufted ducks and swifts (best seen in spring), kingfishers, and peregrine falcons, which can be seen year-round. It's not only rich with birdlife, but it's also home to invertebrates like dragonflies, speckled wood butterflies, thick-kneed beetles, and damselflies. You should also keep your eyes peeled for bats and amphibians.

Despite St James's Park welcoming over 16.9 million visitors every year, it's still home to a variety of wildlife and is a perfect example of wildlife successfully co-existing and growing alongside humans. The park provides habitats for many bird species, including 15 species of waterfowl and pelicans that were first introduced to the park in 1664. You can also spot wood mice, brown rats, and plenty of grey squirrels. It's a precious space for wildlife right in the beating heart of the city, home to plane trees and a stunning lake protected by habitat conservation programmes.

Holland Park is the largest park in Kensington and Chelsea, famous for its Japanese-inspired Kyoto Garden. The park is a kaleidoscope of incredible flora, fauna, greenery and perfectly manicured lawns, attracting a range of wildlife, from the Egyptian goose and tawny owl to grey herons and great spotted woodpeckers. It’s also famously home to a muster of peacocks and peahens, usually spotted pottering around the outskirts of the Kyoto Garden. Many people don’t realise that peacocks can fly, so be sure to look up into the treetops if you’re visiting around dusk.

Victoria Park is one of London’s oldest and most important historic public parks and has been visited by local Londoners for nearly 170 years. The park is the habitat of plenty of urban wildlife, like grey squirrels and many bird species, from common redstarts and pied flycatchers to Canadian geese, kingfishers and more. The park’s boating lake also sees plenty of ducks, swans and geese basking on the water. The West Park also has a 1.4-mile walk called Trees of the World, where you can see 14 grand specimens along the 45-minute trail.

Hyde Park is an iconic Grade I-listed city park providing an essential habitat for various species of flora and fauna. The meadow area attracts countless butterflies throughout the summer months whilst all the trees and shrub beds provide a home for birdlife, including tits, robins, and dunnocks. The Serpentine sees wildfowl freely roaming and great crested grebes, famed for their spectacular courtship dance. The lake also attracts plenty of insects that then attract bats, best viewed on the Dell bridge around dusk.

Mudchute Park and Farm is a community charity farm set across 32 acres of English countryside. It’s a working farm that hosts a range of educational activities and seasonal events. There’s also a daily farm routine where you can see animals during feeding time. The farm is home to a wide variety of livestock, plants and wildlife, including pigs, sheep, goats, llamas, birds and more.

This North London park straddles the border of Highbury, Dalston, Stoke Newington, and Finsbury Park. It's home to two lakes, a paddling pool, and an animal enclosure with goats, birds, and a small herd of fallow deer who have been residents of Clissold Park since 1890. If you look close enough, you might even see the local terrapins cruising along the surface of the lakes alongside swans, ducks, and geese.

This ancient woodland is not only a paradise for keen dendrophiles, but it also provides a habitat for a range of wildlife, including tawny owls, the elusive stag beetle, and plenty of fungi. This nature reserve is managed by London Wildlife Trust and is one of the largest remaining parts of the ancient Great North Wood. You'll find more than 200 species of trees and plants and open glades which attract rare butterflies, like the silver-washed fritillary.

Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park is a four-acre nature reserve located a stone's throw away from the O2 arena. It's home to a wide variety of wildlife, including insects like wasp spiders, nesting common terns and reed warblers. It's also home to frogs and wetland plants, like flag iris and ragged robin.

Camley Street Natural Park, located between King's Cross and St Pancras, comprises woodland, lush grassland wetland habitats and marshland. It makes for the perfect habitat for all kinds of wildlife, especially insects, including butterflies and birds, amphibians and a variety of flora and fauna.

Spanning 105 acres, the WWT London Wetland Centre is a wildlife haven, home to otters and numerous water birds, perfect for nature walks, relaxation, and educating children about conservation. The centre offers entertaining activities and amenities like a wobbly bridge, swings, and a mud kitchen, complemented by a café for refreshments.

Gillespie Park is the biggest nature reserve in Islington, covering almost three hectares of ponds, woodland, and meadows. It's home to hundreds of plant species, 94 bird species, and 24 species of butterfly. You can walk around here, visit the ecology centre, or join events, including weekly volunteering activities.