A wildlife-rich mosaic of habitats with free parking and a Visitor Centre just off the A1
Footprints in the snow (or mud!) January’s snowfall shed a new light on some of the mammals found at the Pits. With practice, you can identify them by their footprints. One of the easiest is the rabbit, due to its very different front and back feet and the way it hops. The front feet are… Read More
Diving Ducks Diving Ducks can feed in deep water by submerging completely, disappearing for a few seconds before popping up nearby. The most common at the Pits is the black-and-white tufted duck which you can see all year round as it breeds on the reserve. In addition to these resident birds, hundreds more tufted ducks… Read More
Dabbling Ducks Dabbling Ducks feed in shallow water or in floating weed, by flipping upside down, with their tails sticking up in the air. You can find some at the Pits all year round, for example, the familiar mallard and the distinctive shoveler with its broad, spade-shaped bill. In the winter, many more ducks arrive… Read More
Winter Thrushes This month you can see Fieldfares and Redwings in flocks, often a mixture of both species, feeding on the ground or in trees and bushes. They have flown over the North Sea from Scandinavia in search of our milder winter weather. Berries Fieldfares and Redwings are particularly keen on the abundant crop of… Read More
