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Nearest
Town: Blackburn Grid Ref: SD 682 254 River
Darwen Parkway is a large open space within an urban setting. It is rich in industrial
history and now a haven for wildlife with a mosaic of habitats including woodland,
scrub, heath and grassland with ponds and marshes. Surveys
on the reserve have identified 56 bird species including 29 breeding species.
These include peregrine, snipe and yellowhammer. Sand martin
can be seen as one of the first migrants to arrive from Africa. 161
plants were identified on the reserve including heather, harebell,
meadow cranesbill and great water dock. The
reserve has numerous ponds and wetland areas where smooth and palmate newts can
be seen. Regular
volunteer days are held at River Darwen Parkway. A major task is managing the
heath land to keep it in a favourable condition. The
Trust's Environmental Task Force regularly carries out work on the reserve to
maintain the extensive network of footpaths. |