European stonechat
The area of the site is , and comprises a significant amount of heath—primarily the dry heath "Calluna vulgaris" and "Erica cinerea", but locally dominant are the damp or humid heath "Erica tetralix" and "Molinia caerulea". Rare heathland species include the sand lizard "(Lacerta agilis"), smooth snake ("Coronella austriaca"), heath grasshopper ("Chorthippus vagansand") and the Dartford warbler ("Sylvia undata"). Other local heathland species at Ferndown Common include the silver-studded blue butterfly ("Plebejus argus"), European nightjar ("Caprimulgus europaeus") and European stonechat. In the south-east of the site there are several small ponds, which support at least 14 species of dragonflies, most of which are heathland species. Also resident in the ponds are large populations of the widespread, although in decline, common frog ("Rana temporaria") and palmate newt ("Triturus helveticus").