City centre wildlife wander

In June 2002 we launched the City Centre Nature Trail, an exciting exploration of the wildlife that lives in the heart of Bristol. This streetwise trail aims to be a true eye-opener, bringing together the historic past and wildlife present, and demonstrating how interwoven our human activities and their effect on wildlife really are. The trail is divided into two parts - a watery wander by the dockside, and a hilly hike over Brandon Hill. This is the dockside section...

A watery wander
Down in the docks discover the living remnants of Bristol's sea-faring trade with far-flung lands. The network of waterways reflect the growth and greatness of Bristol as a port, although the recent acceleration of harbourside residential development does threaten to airbrush away the evocative atmosphere.

buddleia in Bristol

Birds, boats and beggarticks
The picturesquely named beggartick is a large bushy plant with a startlingly bright orange flower, and is a native of the americas. You'll see it in bloom in late summer on floating pontoons, sunken boats and bits of wasteland. The docks are also home to the American great millet, and rough bristle-grass and red valerian from the Mediterranean. Look up at the great industrial cranes by the Arnolfini and you'll often see the sleek black shape of a cormorant, birds that breed on Steepholm in the Bristol Channel and fly here to feed, an indicator of the increased improvement in water quality in the docks, which now support roach, bream, pike, eel and chubb.

A large fig tree grows out of the wall opposite the old Courages Brewery at Castle Park. Figs were brought into the docks from the Mediterranean and it's thought that the tree grew from a fruit that germinated in the water here, where the temperature was higher due to the warm water discharged from the Brewery

cormorant

Svelte swans
Mute swans are elegant residents around Welsh Back, where numbers are boosted in winter when swans fly in from as far away as the Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, to benefit from warmer city waters and a guaranteed sources of food from local cafes, restaurants and Friends of the Swans , a local group of swan supporters. A record number of 145 birds were seen in December 1999. Swans were first recorded in the docks in 1688. The sight of the swans taking off in formation across the water is a true city-centre wildlife spectacle, as are the not infrequent crash-landings on Bristol Bridge which cause traffic chaos. Canada geese, muscovey duck, wood duck and over-wintering kingfisher sometimes join the swans for the cold season.

Starling spectacular
In autumn and winter Bristol Bridge is home to one of the city's last starling roosts. If you are here at dusk you will see birds arriving in small groups and perching on the spire of St Nicholas Church before flying overhead in a great cloud and then swooping low to their roost beneath the bridge. Similar flocks used to be seen around the Hippodrome, and at Temple Meads. Their disappearance reflects a national decline in the numbers of this once-common bird. The lack of nest sites as old buildings are cleared away has also contributed to this, and it is estimated that there are no more than 100 pairs nesting in central Bristol.

Seagull stroll
Narrow Quay forms a gull corridor between the city centre and the docks, and gulls are always paragliding past, strutting their stuff on the pavement or dive-bombing the docks. Herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls nest on the roofs around the centre. A recent count identified 300 nesting pairs of herring gulls and 900 of lesser black-backed. In winter many fly south to Africa and the Bay of Biscay, and as their numbers drop the smaller black-headed gulls take their place. Thirty years ago there were no gulls breeding in the city, but numbers have been increasing by 10% each year, although this varies, depending on changes in food packaging, litter collection methods and the loss of older buildings. Although gulls do take rubbish from the city, and a variety of 'junk' food in nests such as chicken bones and coke cans, they actually ensure that they have a nutritious diet, mainly invertebrates and worms. The Downs provide a three-star local restaurant, where enormous flocks of gulls can be seen breakfasting early in the morning.