A variety of animals share the park. Most are rarely seen but the list here records those sighted by park visitors since 2010.

The pattern of different landscape characters across the park provides habitats for many bird species and those spotted in recent years are recorded here.

Mawson Field is a good place to find butterflies in summer with its wild meadow and butterfly-friendly plants. Some butterflies have other habitats and the elm trees on Discovery Way are home to the rare White-letter Hairstreak butterfly.

The park has many hedges which remain from its former use as farmland and they now serve to divide the park into ‘outdoor rooms’. Built in the traditional Devon style with stone-faced banks, they showcase the biodiversity and landscape benefits of hedges in the heart of a busy city.

Central Park has many interesting and rare trees as well as a semi-natural woodland along the sides of the Valley on its eastern edge. Some suggested places to start your own tree record are described here.

Sown with wildflowers, the park’s meadows provide a rich habitat for bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects