Accidental countryside: why nature thrives in unlikely places

At an urban reservoir, a panoply of rare birds has found a home. It is one of many areas created for human use that has become a wildlife havenWith its trees still naked after winter, Lordship Road in the London borough of Hackney is an urban vista of asphalt, brick and concrete. Heading north, a pair of tower blocks loom from the horizon. Pounding its pavements to the soundtrack of vans accelerating between speed bumps, it's hard to imagine that behind the barbed-wire-topped fence on my right, obscured by a tall, grassy bank, lies a nature reserve that is more biodiverse than much of what we consider the real countryside.As soon as you enter Woodberry wetlands, the soundtrack changes to an enthusiastic avian choir. The high-pitched honks of the coots that live year round on this drinking-water reservoir punctuate the shrill chatter and song of robins, blackbirds, dunnocks, greenfinches, parakeets, wrens, warblers, tits (great, long-tailed and blue) and many more. The 11 hectares of wide-open space is calming, like a giant deep breath, while the enigmatic rustles and darting movements of nature going about its business are delightful and reassuring. Continue reading...