The British Trust for Ornithology-Business Bird Challenge is run every two years for companies that own and manage sites that are good for birdlife, assisted by local birdwatchers, The Friends and RSPB volunteers. More than 100 sites take part across the UK. Paxton Quarry won the Community Award for large quarries in 2002, achieved an amazing treble in 2004, winning all three awards in the large quarry category, and took the Birds and Community awards in the 2006 Challenge.

Bird monitoring
In 2006, we recorded 167 species, thanks in part to low water levels as part of quarrying operations that attracted large numbers of passage waders, including our first American Golden Plover. In 2004, 158 species were recorded in the Challenge area, itself higher than the 149 in 2002.

If you have Microsoft Excel, you can download the lists for all three Challenges (177 Kb). Monitoring was carried out by seven volunteers who, between them, visited the quarry each week throughout the year. These observers were given access to the site after safety training and agreement on access procedures. Contributions from a further 100 people were made from footpaths which surround the site.

Breeding bird data for the Challenge was gathered by volunteers, mostly through a CBC-style survey across the entire Bardon Aggregates site (and the neighbouring nature reserve) in May and June. The results have been summarised in the Birds and Wildlife of Paxton Pits 2006.

LITTLE PAXTON QUARRY SCOOPS BIRD AWARD DOUBLE
Press release from Aggregate Industries, 21st May 2007
Bardon Aggregates’ Little Paxton Quarry near St Neots in Cambridgeshire has won two prestigious awards in the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Business Bird Challenge 2006 which recognises the best bird conservation initiatives nationwide. Hard work by local birdwatchers, conservation volunteers and quarry staff resulted in the quarry scooping the Conservation and Bird Species categories in the Large Quarry section.

Little Paxton Quarry, a sand and gravel extraction operation which is adjacent to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, has been managed with sensitivity to wildlife over the past decade. Little Paxton Quarry and Paxton Pits Nature Reserve form an important wetland which attracts tens of thousands of people every year. Part of the site has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England, in recognition of its importance for wintering water birds, many of which visit from Russia and the high Arctic.

The Birds category was won by Little Paxton with an amazing 160 different bird species monitored through the year by a team of volunteers from the Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve (FPPNR) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

The Conservation Award was won by quarry staff and volunteers from the FPPNR and RSPB working to improve wildlife habitats at the quarry. During the year, they managed shorelines and a specially-created island for ground-nesting birds, re-profiled an existing island to allow future management by control of water levels, and maintained viewpoints on the Ouse Valley Way long-distance footpath. Volunteers from the Friends also used their long experience of habitat management on the adjacent Reserve to support to the Company’s plan to extend Paxton Pits Nature Reserve as part of an application to extract the remaining minerals at the site.

This is the third year of awards for Little Paxton Quarry in the BTO Business Bird Challenge, having previously won in 2002 and 2004. Elsewhere in the UK, Bardon Aggregates’ owner Aggregate Industries also won an award in the Large Quarry category for Cleveland Farm in Wiltshire. In addition its Fledmyre Quarry in Forfar, Scotland was selected in the Quarry category.

Quarry manager, Darren Griffiths, said: “The input of our volunteers is crucial to Little Paxton Quarry winning these awards. I would like to thank them for giving up their time to monitor the wildlife at the quarry and develop special habitats that have attracted a diverse range of birds. Over the years, Little Paxton Quarry has established a good name for conservation. Our third consecutive award supports this well-earned reputation.”

The team will be officially presented with its awards on 21st June 2007 at Rutland Water.

BARDON QUARRY WINS TRIPLE FIRST!
Press release from Aggregate Industries, 29th June 2005

Bardon Aggregates’ Little Paxton Quarry has won first place in all three Categories of this year’s British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)–Hanson Business Bird Challenge.

Hard work by local birdwatchers, conservation volunteers and staff at Little Paxton Quarry has resulted in an exceptional treble in the BTO-Hanson Business Bird Challenge.

The national Challenge, held every two years, makes awards to businesses with the best bird conservation initiatives. In the Large Quarry section, Little Paxton swept the board, winning the Community, Conservation and Best Bird Site Awards.

The Birds category was won with an amazing 158 different species, monitored through the year by a team of volunteers from The Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve and St Neots Bird and Wildlife Club.

The Community and Conservation awards were won by another team of local volunteers (from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and The Friends) and quarry staff, working to improve wildlife habitats at the quarry. During the year, they built an otter holt and a barn owl nest box, managed shorelines and specially-created islands for ground-nesting birds, set up a water level monitoring scheme, and wrote a detailed Habitat Management Plan to guide future conservation work in the quarry.

Quarry Manager, Simon Smith said: “Without the input of the volunteers, Little Paxton Quarry would not have stood a chance of winning. I would like to thank them for giving up their time to monitor the wildlife at the quarry and develop special habitats that have attracted a diverse range of birds”.

Jim Stevenson, Senior Ranger at Huntingdonshire District Council’s adjacent Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, was delighted with the news. He commented: “Paxton Pits is an outstanding area for wildlife, which attracts tens of thousands of people every year. The nature reserve exists because of gravel extraction and it’s great that the efforts to enhance the current quarry have been recognised by these three awards”.