During construction, the Welsh Harp attracted uncommon birds.
James Edmund Harting and
Frederick Bond were regular visitors and shot many birds. Harting documented these in his 1866 book the
Birds of Middlesex. They included rare vagrants to the
UK such as
little bittern,
squacco heron and
white-rumped sandpiper. This started an interest in the birds of the Welsh Harp that continues until today, giving a unique historical perspective of a site in London. The next prominent ornithologist was
William Glegg from the 1920s onwards and he wrote a paper for the
London Naturalist in 1930 called 'The Birds of Middlesex since 1866, then a follow-up book to Harting's in 1935, called
A History of the Birds of Middlesex. After the Second World War, a new generation of ornithologists took an interest, such as
Professor Warmington, and
Eric Simms, who lived just south of the reservoir in
Dollis Hill. They were joined by Dr
Leo Batten in the late 1950s. He was one of the movers in setting up the Welsh Harp Conservation Group (WHCG) in 1972 to fight off development. The WHCG has worked to protect the area as a nature reserve, including preventing a golf course and driving range from being built. The WHCG produces an annual report and in 2000 published a book, Birds of Brent Reservoir, which includes chapters on the social history, the effects of urbanisation and the habitats, as well as a study of the birds and other wildlife. The book's information on birds is regularly updated in an electronic publication, Birds of Brent Reservoir: Facts and Figures. All WHCG publication are available through its website. The WHCG also organises management work, which included an annual refurbishment of the tern rafts until the silting up of this part of the reservoir prevented a safe approach to the rafts, and the group works with Brent and Barnet councils on the management of the site, including applying for
National Lottery funding. The reservoir and much of its shoreline is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest, mainly due to the diversity of breeding waterbirds. The reservoir and much of the surrounding area are a
Local Nature Reserve and a
Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.
Birds of the reservoir The reservoir is an important site for breeding waterbirds such as
great crested grebe,
gadwall,
shoveler,
common pochard,
tufted duck and
common tern. At one stage, the reservoir was second only to
Rutland Water for the most breeding pairs of great crested grebe in the UK. Other breeding birds include eight species of
warbler. In 2008, the first nesting attempt by
great cormorant took place as well as the first nesting attempt by
grey heron for several years. Neither attempt was successful, but grey heron have bred successfully since 2017. The reservoir has always enjoyed a reputation for rare birds. As well as those documented above, it attracted two
black-winged stilts in 1918; the first
great white egret in London in 1997; the
blue-winged teal in 1996; the
lesser scaup in 2003; and
penduline tits in 1996 and 1997. Remarkably for an inland site, it also attracts rare vagrant warblers, notably the
aquatic warbler in 1955,
Hume's warbler in 2004 and
yellow-browed warblers in several winters since 1994; however, most significant was an
Iberian chiffchaff on 3 June 1972, the first recorded in the UK. The current list of birds recorded at the reservoir numbers 253 species. The most recent species added to the list are
Caspian gull (2015),
Ring-necked duck (2017) and
cattle egret (2018).
Insects Many other forms of wildlife have also been studied and were documented in the Birds of Brent Reservoir.
Other vertebrates Four species of reptiles, five species of amphibians, and nine species of fish have been recorded at the reservoir.
Neasden Recreation Ground Neasden Recreation Ground is a park of on the southern shore of the reservoir. It is mainly grassland with woods, a sports ground and a children's play area. There is access from Aboyne Road and from the North Circular Road, opposite Brook Road and close to
Staples Corner.
Welsh Harp Open Space Welsh Harp Open Space is a park and nature reserve of on the north-west shore. It was established as a recreational area in 1965, and received a
Green Flag Award for 2010–11. There is access from Birchen Grove. In the late 19th century, this area was served by the
Welsh Harp railway station. ==Gallery==