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Upton Heath Habitats & Wildlife
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Upton Heath is a little known reserve in an urban setting, overlooking Poole Harbour, with views across to Corfe Castle and the Isle of Purbeck.
It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and proposed site Special Protection Area (European designation).
Management
The heath is very much a man-made habitat and without management would quickly revert to scrub and woodland. With the increase in leisure time and a decrease in the amount of open spaces available, more pressure is placed on such sensitive sites. The management work required to maintain the heath and limit erosion from mountain bikers and horse riders is considerable.
Habitats
The reserve is a fascinating mosaic of dry, humid and wet heath, with mire systems, bog pools, ponds, grassland, woodland, bare ground and scrub belts. With this diversity of habitats one would expect to find a wide range of wildlife species and Upton Heath does not disappoint.
Dry Heath
All 6 British reptiles can be found here and the scratchy sound of the Dartford Warbler mixes with that of the stonechat, which sounds like pebbles being knocked together. Common heather, bell heather and gorse dominate the heath. Occasional splashes of colour come from tormentil, heath milkwort, devil's matchsticks or silver-studded blue butterfly.
Humid/Wet Heath
Cross-leaved heath and purple moor grass dominate this heath. As the ground becomes wetter bog asphodel appear, together with the white tufts of cotton grass and heath spotted orchid, marsh gentian and royal fern.
Mires
The mire systems, with their many pools, attract a tremendous diversity of wildlife with 20 species of moss, 19 species of dragonfly and damselfly along with the insect eating round-leaved sundew and raft spider.
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