Heathrow Airport has opened a unique birdwatching hide, the Nature Traffic Control Tower, at its Causeway Nature Reserve, marking the launch of its new Nature Positive Plan.
Shaped like the airport’s control tower, the bird hide is free to visit through a bookable guided tour. It offers panoramic views of local wildlife, including 79 bird species, rare butterflies, grass snakes and the UK’s rarest native tree – the Black Poplar.
The initiative forms part of Heathrow’s broader sustainability strategy, Connecting People and Planet, backed by a £250 million investment between 2022 and 2026. The Nature Positive Plan sets out how the airport will monitor, reduce and restore its environmental impact, including expanding its conservation land, tackling water pollution and funding forest and peatland restoration across the UK.
Heathrow currently manages 170 hectares of biodiversity land – around 10% of its total footprint – across 13 conservation sites. Guided tours at Causeway Nature Reserve take visitors through reedbeds, meadows, lakes and ancient woodland beside the River Crane, home to species such as kingfishers, harvest mice, barn owls and European eels.
Nearby, the Princes Lakes site supports species including the Nathusius’ Pipistrelle bat, 90 types of bees, and wintering waterfowl like the Smew duck and Little Egret.
Heathrow’s biodiversity sites have held The Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark for 17 consecutive years.
Free birdwatching tours can be booked via Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/e/heathrow-nature-tour-tickets-1341655781559
