Drove Park Nature Reserve

You can learn more about Drove Park Nature Reserve by watching our YouTube channel.

Location

This small man made nature reserve is right in the centre of Newhaven. Surrounded on all sides by a supermarket, an industrial estate, main road and cricket pitch this oasis of calm holds bounty of wildlife.   

Avis Road, Newhaven BN9 0AG    Map Reference: TQ 453 020

Access

There is a circular all access surfaced path around the site as well as a number of benches.

Parking: This is no designated parking area.

Recreation: Dog walking is permitted

Walks: This small site is worth a visit if you're exploring the town.

Wildlife

There are three man made ponds that differ in depth and are important to lots of wildlife.

The shallowest pond is only wet during the winter months and in early spring is used by amphibians that are emerging from their winter hibernation in nearby hibernaculum (a safe place for hibernating). 

The next pond is deeper and so holds water all year. There is a small patch of open water surrounded by dense common reed. This is a refuge for reed warblers that migrate here from Africa in the summer. These elusive birds are hardly even seen, but their loud warbling song can be heard throughout the summer.

The third pond is the largest and the most amount of open water with a dense reed edge. This pond attracts a number of water birds, including moorhen and a heron.

The ponds are surrounded by grass areas which are allowed to grow long until the end of summer. This provides habitat for lots of insects which is important supporting other wildlife. The grass is cut at the end of summer and the cuttings taken away, this helps lower the nutrients in the soil and encourage more wild flowers.