Days out: Birdwatching in Barnes

Wet, wild, and just a short flap from Heathrow

The only birds of note you would normally expect to see when standing directly under the flight path six miles from Heathrow airport are of the jumbo jet variety. But an area of west London is now the site of one of the most ambitious wildlife projects ever undertaken in this country.

The London Wetland Centre is the brainchild of the late Sir Peter Scott, founder of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. It has transformed 43 hectares of redundant concrete reservoirs at Barns Elms into the first wetland habitat to be created in any capital city.

Birds have always used the Thames for navigation on the migration routes. The old reservoirs were, in fact, popular with over-wintering ducks and Bill Oddie, the bird expert and former Goodie, was among those who spent their youth here, occasionally having to give the property's bailiff the slip. The WWT reckoned – correctly – that by adding a wider range of habitats and food other birds would stop off, too.

The site today amounts to a Who's Who of the bird world, laid out among lakes, ponds, reed beds, wildflower gardens and meadows. For the twitcher it is heaven, but it is also a great day out for those of us whose bird-spotting starts and finishes with blackbirds and sparrows and for anyone who simply wants to spend a few hours wandering in an an almost rural landscape.

The centre opened two years ago and now is a good time to visit because the landscape has had time to grow and the wildlife has settled down and established a food chain (good news if you're a heron, bad if you're a newt). All counted, there are 140 bird species, 300 kinds of moth and butterfly, 20 dragonfly species – more than half of all UK species – more than 300,000 aquatic plants and 30,000 trees.

Beautifully laid out paths fan out around the reservoirs taking you through a range of habitats. It is restful and extremely therapeutic to listen to the wind blowing through the reeds. A water vole may scurry across your path or a dragonfly settle upon your map, while swifts dart and dive overhead. On cooler summer days marsh frogs will strike up a chorus with their cackling – they have been heard at night from across the Thames in Fulham. From time to time a rarity puts in a guest appearance at the centre. Last year it was a cattle egret; this year there have been three bitterns.

A series of hides occupy vantage points. The grandest is the three-storey Peacock tower, which has wheelchair access and views right across the reserve. Do not miss the pond-dipping centre, where you plunge a bowl into one of the ponds and take your specimen for examination under the microscope. Children cannot get enough of it – if they can elbow the adults out of the way.

At the heart of the centre are a cinema, an excellent café and a captivating observatory. Here, there are informative hands-on displays that enable you to identify what birds you are looking at (all sparrow-sized birds are technically bracketed as "small brown jobs") and to hear their distinctive tunes.

The western half of the reserve is dedicated to wildlife habitats from around the world, a showcase for black-necked swans from Chilean Patagonia and the rare Australian freckled duck. Beyond is the most remote and secluded section, known as the wildside, where tiny ponds hemmed in by reeds may reveal a mute sawn. It is made for what you might call a BBC4 moment – everybody needs a place to think.

London Wetlands Centre, Queen Elizabeth's Walk, Barnes, London SW13 9WT. Admission: adults £6.75, children £4 (020-8409 4400; www.wwt.org.uk).