Wetland plans a wild party

It supports more than 140 species of bird - some not seen near London's heart for 200 years - at least five species of bat and more than 300 species of butterfly.

It has brought wildlife to more than 125,000 human visitors, including some 50,000 schoolchildren, within five miles of Hyde Park Corner. This month, the Wetland Centre in Barnes celebrates its first birthday in suitable style - with a 4.30am champagne birding breakfast.

Operations manager Stephanie Fudge says: "We have a lot to be proud of. It has gone from strength to strength."

The idea for the 105-acre project, still the biggest man-made urban wildlife habitat in the world, began in 1994. A partnership between Thames Water, Berkeley Homes and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust resulted in the conversion of the four "concrete bowl" Barn Elms reservoirs - redundant after the completion of the London ring main - into a labyrinth of 30 lakes, ponds and pools.

Wildlife duly flocked in but the public's enjoyment of the park lasted just five days after the official opening last summer, when the second Hammersmith Bridge bomb made the centre virtually inaccessible from most of London for five months.

Now, though, visitor figures are remarkably close to the projections - just 16 per cent short of its first-year targets.

There is no shortfall at all in its success as a wildlife habitat. The site now supports internationally important numbers of some species of shoveler duck and gadwall, the populations of which have risen on site by, respectively, 540 per cent and 625 per cent.

Just across the river from Fulham football ground, it has the first breeding population of lapwings - 10 pairs - within five miles of Oxford Street since the expansion of London in the early 1800s.

Since spring last year, rare visitors have included red-necked grebe, marsh harriers, red kites - among the first seen in London since the Second World War - and golden plovers. Peregrine falcons are regularly seen. The successes have not been restricted to birds: frogs and toads are breeding, as are clouded yellow butterflies, Webbs Wainscot moths and lesser emperor dragonflies.

The centre is holding its birthday celebrations over the Whitsun Bank Holiday. For details, telephone 020 8409 4400.