This site includes two lakes surrounded by woodland, providing a home for a good variety of water birds. Canons Lake is also known locally as Seven Acre Lake and is used for angling by local residents. The woodland at Dalkeith Grove is accessible via a gate from the recreation ground, and the north side of the Basin is unfenced from the street. Access to Canons Lake and the south side of the basin is restricted to keyholding residents of the Canons Park Estate.
Local Wildlife Site
Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation
Canons Lake and The Basin
Borough: Harrow
Grade: Borough Grade II
Access: Free public access (part of site)
Area: 6.87 ha
Description
Wildlife
Canons Lake supports a large and diverse population of fish and is fringed with woodland of alder, crack-willow, hornbeam, ash, and beech, with a dense shrub layer largely dominated by exotic species. The ground flora has a strong wetland element, such as wild angelica, yellow iris, water mint, and sedge, as well as typical woodland species such as wood sedge, remote sedge and broad buckler-fern. The Basin, located further south within the Canons Park Estate, is a smaller lake, also fringed with woodland, and with a marginal flora including rushes and water mint. Both water bodies support a range of common waterfowl, including nesting great crested and little grebes, coot, moorhen, Canada goose, tufted duck and mallard. A wider range of water birds visit on migration. Between Canons Lake and Dalkieth Grove to the north, is a continuation of the woodland. Woodland flowers such as angelica and cow parsley flourish beneath the elms, silver birches, cherry and elder. A small stream running through the woodland includes a number of habitat features likely to be valuable to invertebrates, including exposed shingle and bare earth.Facilities
Fishing
No photo yet available for this site
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