Chew Valley Lake

Also within

Somerset County Mendip Hills Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Carr

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area, 565.2 ha. 1396.6 ac. Description The site consists of an expanse of open water the largest artificial freshwater lake in South West England with peripheral areas of reed bed, carr, woodland and neutral grassland. The sparse submerged vegetation is composed largely of fennel pondweed Potamogeton pectinatus, lesser pondweed Potamogeton pusillus, opposite leaved pondweed Groenlandia densa and water crowfoots Ranunculus spp. The site is an internationally important staging post for migratory birds, especially waders, terns, warblers and hirundines. The grasslands and reedbeds are a critical autumn feeding ground for reed warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus and sedge warbler A. schoenobaenus and the lake is one of the most important inland waters in Britain for wintering wildfowl. Chew Valley Lake supports good populations of shoveler Spatula clypeata mean winter peak, 490 and gadwall Mareca strepera 210 and nationally important numbers of teal Anas crecca 1750 and tufted duck Aythya fuligula 570. Other species over wintering include golden eye Bucephala clangula, wigeon Mareca penelope, snipe Gallinago gallinago, lapwing Vanellus vanellus and redshank Tringa totanus. Up to 50 broods of great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus and 28 of little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis are raised annually; autumn numbers of great crested grebe 400 are the highest in Britain. Duck species breeding regularly include gadwall, mallard Anas platyrhynchos, shoveler, pochard Aythya ferina, tufted duck, ruddy duck Oxyura jamaicensis and shelduck Tadorna tadorna. The lake also supports up to 42,000 roosting black headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus, common gull Larus canus and lesser black backed gull Larus fuscus. A total of 247 species of bird have been recorded. Traditionally managed pasture and hay meadows on Keuper Marls and Head Deposit's are included in the site. Plants associated with neutral soils include pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus, burnet saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga and devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis, with fairy flax Linum catharticum, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba and dwarf thistle Cirsium acaule in more calcareous areas. There is a colony of several thousand green winged orchid Anacamptis morio and abundant cowslip Primula veris, spiny rest-harrow Ononis spinosa and dyer's greenweed Genista tinctoria. Hedgerows support the nationally rare Bithynian vetch Vicia bithynica.

Species mentioned