Birds have been quick to take advantage of the new wetland habitats created by gravel extraction. As scrub and woodland develops around the Pits, other birds move in. Around 70 species breed regularly, with several dozen more spending the winter here. To date, 234 species have been recorded at Paxton Pits, though the ‘star’ birds are undoubtedly nightingales, other birds of scrub habitat, cormorants and the winter wildfowl.

This page enables you to access all the bird pages on the Paxton Pits website:

General information
The star birds at Paxton Pits, with special features on cormorants and nightingales
Volunteers undertake Wetland Bird Surveys (WeBS) every winter: click here for the latest results
Find out how you can help with bird surveys at Paxton Pits

The Friends of Paxton Pits publishes a report on the birds and wildlife of the Pits complex, which is available from the Visitors' Centre. Click here for information and an archive of past reports.

Bardon Aggregates, supported by The Friends of Paxton Pits, has helped to put its quarry on the bird conservation map through the BTO Business-Bird Challenge.

Lists and facts
A complete checklist of birds recorded at Paxton Pits
Paxton’s Year List: what has been seen so far this year (with an archive back to 2002)
Paxton’s ‘Most Wanted’ - the birds that have been seen just a few times
Where can I see a…? - Answers to the most frequently asked questions we receive
Summer migrants at Paxton - the earliest and latest dates recorded
The highest number of species seen at Paxton in one day

Paxton's wildlife photofiles
We are building a suite of pages about the birds you might see at Paxton Pits. On each page, you can click on the photograph to see a larger format version, as well as find information about their status at Paxton.