Thatcham Reed Beds
Encyclopedia
Thatcham Reed Beds is a 66.9 hectare (165.3 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest
in the civil parish
of Thatcham
in the English
county of Berkshire
, notified in 1974.
Located at , Thatcham Reed Beds is important nationally for its extensive reedbed, species rich alder
woodland and fen habitats. The latter supports Desmoulin's whorl snail
(Vertigo moulinsiana), which is of national and European importance. A large assemblage of breeding birds including nationally rare species such as Cetti's Warbler
(Cettia cetti) is also associated with the reedbed, fen and open water habitats found at Thatcham Reed Beds.
Thatcham's network of gravel pit
s, reedbed, woodland, hedges and grassland
is rich in wildlife and has been made into The Nature Discovery Centre
by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
in the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Thatcham
Thatcham
Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England 3 miles east of Newbury and 15 miles west of Reading. It covers about and has a population of 23,000 people . This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961.It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, notified in 1974.
Located at , Thatcham Reed Beds is important nationally for its extensive reedbed, species rich alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
woodland and fen habitats. The latter supports Desmoulin's whorl snail
Desmoulin's whorl snail
Desmoulin's whorl snail, scientific name Vertigo moulinsiana, is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the vertigo snails....
(Vertigo moulinsiana), which is of national and European importance. A large assemblage of breeding birds including nationally rare species such as Cetti's Warbler
Cetti's Warbler
Cetti's Warbler , Cettia cetti, is an Old World warbler which breeds in Europe, northwest Africa and east southern temperate Asia as far as Afghanistan and NW Pakistan. It is the only bush warbler to occur outside Asia...
(Cettia cetti) is also associated with the reedbed, fen and open water habitats found at Thatcham Reed Beds.
Thatcham's network of gravel pit
Gravel pit
Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas...
s, reedbed, woodland, hedges and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
is rich in wildlife and has been made into The Nature Discovery Centre
The Nature Discovery Centre
The Nature Discovery Centre is a nature centre in the town of Thatcham in the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated at Thatcham Lake, a flooded gravel quarry near to the Thatcham Reed Beds....
by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...
.