Shovelers One look at the broad bill of a shoveler will tell you how it got its name and how it feeds. You can watch them sweeping their bills from side to side through the water, filtering out plants and invertebrates. They find most food in shallow water and the flooded meadows proved very popular… Read More

Green Woodpeckers One of the most common and loudest bird calls that you are likely to hear at Paxton Pits at any time of the year is the “yaffle” of the green woodpecker. There are plenty around this Autumn, so you are very likely to hear one and there is also a good chance that… Read More

Returning ducks Many of the ducks at Paxton Pits leave us in the Spring to breed in Northern Britain or Scandinavia. By October, they have returned to spend the winter in our milder climate and you will see far more on the reserve than in the summer months. The wigeon is one of the more… Read More

Departing swallows and house martins The swifts and cuckoos have gone, and this month you will see swallows and house martins gathering on wires, also getting ready to depart. They have to leave before their food supply disappears; they only eat flying insects and there are very few of those around in the winter months.… Read More