Main habitats: lowland calcareous grassland and lowland chalk heath
The chalk heath that covers just under a third of the reserve is pink in August with flowers of heather and bell heather, surrounded by gorse bushes whose yellow flowers smell of coconut. Over 250 types of plant grow here. More than 98 types of bird have been seen, 50 of which nest on the reserve.
The slightly acid, fine soil has allowed the development of an intimately mixed chalk and heath plant community. Acid loving heathers and tormentil grow among plants such as thyme, salad burnet and dropwort, which have adapted to the chalk.
