Paxton Pits Nature Reserve

Paxton Pits Nature Reserve is an extensive complex of gravel pits in Little Paxton surrounded by scrub and woodland.  

There are a proliferation of birds who visit Paxton Pits.  Large numbers of warblers in spring and summer and the highest population of Nightingales in Cambridgeshire (25 singing males in 2000). There are over 60 breeding species, including Kingfishers, Grey Herons, Little Grebes and one of the largest inland Cormorant colonies in the UK (c. 100 nests). The shingle islands on two of the lakes make Paxton Pits one of the most important sites in the Ouse Valley for breeding Lapwing, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Common Tern (with Oystercatcher breeding occasionally).

Spring and autumn can be good for passage migrants, with Avocet and Black-tailed Godwits annual in recent years. In winter, the Pits play host to large numbers of ducks, especially Pochard and Tufted Duck; Smew, Black-necked Grebe and Goosander are annual. A Bittern has wintered here for several winters during the late 1990s. Rarities have included Killdeer, Caspian Tern and Red Footed Falcon.