The Country Park has three main habitats - wetland, grassland and woodland, although there are different types of each and they all overlap – wet grassland and wet woodland, for example.

Wetland

There are two large lakes totalling 36 acres, including the Wildlife Lake which has no public access around the majority of the edges. The main lake has access all of the way around and has a number of benches around it so you can sit and watch the water birds and reed buntings.

The Ornamental Lake is fairly shallow and sheltered and has a good reed bed where swans regularly nest. The Wash was dug in 1997-8 as a uniformly shallow water body. It retains water all year round and has become a valuable dragonfly and damselfly area as well as providing a habitat for lots of smaller water life. Maintenance of The Wash involves clearing reedmace (bulrush) to prevent it taking over. With the spoil from digging The Wash a raised path was built near the Wildlife Lake and a barrier created behind which an excellent wet area has developed. This benefits from varying water levels and even occasionally drying out. There are several small ponds around the Park, one is especially good for great crested newts.

Cormorant, heron, tern, teal, wigeon, coot, moorhen, great crested grebe and great crested newt, amongst many, all benefit from the wetland areas. Water voles were first recorded in the Park in 2001 and signs of otters are now regularly found along Alconbury Brook.

Grassland – c.71 acres

The last use of the main grass area was as a potato field! Now it is host to a wide variety of wildlife, including common blue and meadow brown butterflies, dragonflies, kestrels, bushcrickets, birds foot trefoil, cowslip, cuckoo flower, ragged robin and yellow rattle.

The grass outside visitor’s centre is kept short for recreational use, although the Rangers rarely have to cut it since the rabbit population are effective lawnmowers! In 1989 the wet area of grassland was grazed.

The main area of meadowland was planted in the late 1980’s to replace the arable crops previously growing. A mix of wild flowers and slow growing grasses were planted.

Woodland – c.63 acres

Different tree species dominate different woodland areas. There is an oak plantation, a hornbeam dominated woodland (Bob's Wood), and other woodlands comprising of more mixed species (Alder, Ash, Sycamore, Pines, Field Maple, Hazel, Willow, Birch). There are no records as to when Bob’s Wood was planted but guesses are in the region of 100 years ago. It was planted as 3 rows – larch, oak and hornbeam. The oak was felled for boat building during the war and the majority of the larch has fallen due to its shallow root system. Today Bob’s Wood is dominated by hornbeam.

Standing dead wood is maintained as much as possible because of its value for wildlife. Fallen or cut wood is often stacked into piles to provide habitats for invertebrates and small mammals. A dense shrub layer within woodland is encouraged, providing cover for wildlife. In Bobs Wood and other areas there is ongoing clearance and replanting to increase age structure and species diversity. The rides and footpaths through the woods allow light to reach the floor which encourages more species to grow, thus improving diversity.

Muntjac deer, foxes, rooks, sparrowhawks and rabbits are all found within the woodlands as well as all three species of woodpecker – green, greater and lesser spotted.