Wildlife
The chalk stream characteristics of the Itchen Navigation provide a habitat for a huge variety of wildlife, including many rare species. The popular favourites: otters, water voles, kingfishers and butterflies are all found on the Navigation, along with some other species you may not have heard of such as the brook lamprey and the southern damselfly.
"Dusk. Went down to the river with the fishermen and we stopped short at the stile to watch one of the river's most breathtaking sights: a barn owl silently hunting his prey along the river bank. It is an eerie sight; this large white, silent bird following the line of the river, eventually moving out of sight. " Text from: Janet Marsh's Itchen Valley Nature Diary 1979, August 8th entry
The Itchen Navigation forms part of the River Itchen Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive. This offers it the highest form of protection for wildlife in the UK. European protected species found in the Itchen Navigation include southern damselfly, otter, brook lamprey, bullhead and Atlantic salmon. The area is also protected under UK legislation: it is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
You can read more about the Itchen Navigation's wildlife and conservation plans in the following reports:
2008 Survey Reports
Dog Walker Study 2008
Environment Agency Fisheries Monitoring Report 2008 (large file 7MB)
Bat Report 2008
Bird Report 2008
Butterfly, Damselfly and Dragonfly Report 2008
Otter Report 2008
Water Vole Report 2008
2006 Survey Reports
Bat Report 2006
Bird Report 2006
Water Vole Report 2006
Otter Report 2006
Butterfly and Dragonfly Report 2006
Conservation Management Plan
