The Cholderton Estate is managed on sound agricultural and environmental principles and incorporates an impressive array of action for nature conservation. The result is an estate with an exceptional wealth and diversity of wildlife.

Many of the species on the Estate are threatened or have declined substantially throughout the UK and are regarded as a priority concern both in the national and the Hampshire biodiversity programmes.

Birds include barn owl, hobby and long-eared owl, and good populations of farmland birds whose populations have declined dramatically elsewhere, such as grey partridge, lapwing, skylark and corn bunting. There are many hares on the Estate, and other mammals include the rare and declining harvest mouse and a good variety of bats.

Over 450 species of moth have been recorded and 34 species of butterfly are thought to breed on the Estate. Cholderton supports a good population of the rare brown hairstreak butterfly and is one of only two locations for this species in Hampshire. The Estate is notable for a whole range of other invertebrates, including the rare hornet robber fly.

A wide variety of plants is found on the chalk grassland, pastures, small woodlands and arable field margins. Some 70 species of plants are exploiting open ground associated with arable cultivation, including rare arable weeds such as Venus’ looking-glass. Three areas of chalk grassland and an arable field margin on the eastern side of the Estate have been designated 'Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation' by Hampshire County Council.

This part of the website gives an overview of the wildlife of Cholderton, much of it in the words of Henry Edmunds himself, for not only is he passionate about nature on his doorstep, he is also formidably and enthusiastically knowledgeable.