London Heathrow unveils new bird watching tower

London’s Heathrow Airport today unveiled an Air Traffic Control tower with a difference, a birdwatching hideaway right in the heart of one of its 13 local nature conservation sites.

The one-of-a-kind bird hide, designed to resemble the airport’s iconic control tower, is free to visit as part of a bookable tour of the area. It serves as a camouflaged lookout, allowing visitors to watch a huge range of bird species ‘coming into land’, along with other local wildlife.

According to the UK hub, the tower has been created to raise awareness of Heathrow’s Nature Positive Plan, detailing how the airport will better understand and, where possible, reduce its environmental impacts.

Becky Coffin, the airport’s communities and sustainability director, said: “Our work to support nature happens all year round – from introducing cattle to graze habitats in spring, to discovering new-to-science fungi in our woodlands in autumn, and rotational hedgerow management in winter.

“Maintaining and restoring nature is a priority for Heathrow, and we hope this birdwatching experience helps bring our Nature Positive Plan to life and shows travellers that Heathrow is committed to biodiversity, giving them greater confidence in their travel choices.”

Heathrow’s commitment to building on its ongoing efforts to protect and actively restore local biodiversity and ecosystems forms part of the airport’s wider Connecting People and Planet sustainability strategy, which includes a £250 million investment from the airport into carbon and sustainability improvements for the 2022-2026 period.

The new birdwatching experience follows the recent upsurge of the hobby across the globe, with #birdwatching generating over 2 billion views on TikTok in recent years.

TikTok’s top plane spotter, Jerry Dyer (Big Jet TV), was invited to test out the Nature Traffic Control Tower.

All images courtesy of Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments.

Famed for his enthusiastic, viral commentary on aircraft landings, Jerry brought his unique energy to birdwatching as the first to step into the bird hide, right in the heart of Heathrow, streaming his experience to his followers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94L-44J4aY8

Heathrow manages 170 hectares of land across the 13 biodiversity sites surrounding the airport – equating to 10% of Heathrow’s overall footprint.

The Nature Traffic Control Tower has popped up in local site, Causeway Nature Reserve, where visitors can book a free birdwatching session and guided nature tour with one of Heathrow’s expert ecologists.

The tour around the biodiversity site will take nature enthusiasts through diverse habitats, including freshwater lakes, reedbeds, grasslands and woodlands – offering the chance to spot rare flowers, plants and wildlife.

In addition to 79 species of bird soaring in the skies, visitors may encounter Britain’s rarest native tree, the Black Poplar, as well as the Small Heath butterfly and grass snakes.

The surrounding meadows and farmland across Heathrow’s biodiversity sites also host rare spiders and beetles, more than 30 butterfly species, native bluebells, wild daffodils, sweet violets and a wide range of other wildlife, including kingfishers, harvest mice and barn owls.

Jerry Dyer (aka Big Jet TV), commented: “I’ve watched thousands of aircraft land at Heathrow, but seeing feathered friends touch down at one of the airport’s nature sites from a bird hide styled like the control tower? That’s next-level plane spotting!

“It’s an ingenious idea that brings together two of my favourite things – aviation and nature. What’s really impressed me, though, is the work Heathrow’s doing behind the scenes.

“The Nature Traffic Control Tower isn’t just a fun nod to aviation – it marks their serious commitment to protecting local wildlife, reducing their impact on ecosystems and making real investments in sustainability.”

“With the new Nature Positive Plan pledging to support local biodiversity and ecosystems, Heathrow is proving it’s not just about connecting people around the globe, but about caring for nature, too. Such an honour to be working with them!”

Heathrow’s Nature Traffic Control Tower is now open for free bookings via Eventbrite: http://www.heathrow.com/company/about-heathrow/heathrow-2-0-sustainability-strategy