Bedfordshire Nature Reserves

Lady Amhurst Pheasant
Chrysolophus amherstiae
©Steve Blain Website

At some 123,000 hectares Bedfordshire is one of the smallest counties in England, though it can boast of being the home of both the RSPB and for many years of British Birds. Its geology, with four main strata of chalk, gault clay, lower greensand and Oxford clay traversing the county roughly from south-west to north-east ensures that it supports a diverse range of habitats even in a predominantly agricultural context, though some, such as heath-land, now occur only in small, isolated fragments. A total county list of some 280 species includes between 110 and 120 regularly breeding species: on average around 200 species are recorded in all each year.

Bedfordshire's speciality used to be Lady Amherst's Pheasant, which occurred on the Greensand having spread from its original introduction at Woburn (also occurring just into Bucks). Sadly, the population of this extremely secretive and more often heard than seen bird has declined rapidly and is now presumed to have died out there. - by Fatbirder

Harrold Odell Country Park, Bedford

Hobby Woodland, lakes and meadow Location: SP960570 - 10 miles NW of Bedford Road: Harrold to Carlton road Admission: Free Facilities: Visitor centre and hide. Telephone: 01234 720016 Features: Good mix of wetland and woodland birds. Breeding Reed and Sedge warblers, Cormorants and small heronry. Hobby in late summer.

Male Ring Ouzel Blow's Down, Dunstable Remnant chalk grassland. Location: Edge of Dunstable - see map on website. Road: South of A505 Access: open access - see website. Features: The open grass slopes attract passage birds, most notably Ring Ouzel in spring. Other birds of interest include Wheatear, Whinchat, Black Redstart and Dotterel. Full details and map on the Blow's Down website.

The Lodge - RSPB Headquarters The Lodge, Sandy (RSPB Headquarters & Nature Reserve) Woodland and heath. Location: 2 miles from Sandy. Road: A603 Facilities: Trails with wheelchair accessible hide. Telephone: 01767 680541 Features: Headquarters of the RSPB. Woodland and open sandy heath. All three woodpeckers, warblers and other typical woodland birds occur.

Millennium Country Park (Stewartby Lake & Marston Vale Brick Pits), Bedford Location: TL010420 - South of Bedford Road: A421 off Green Lane Admission: Free Telephone: 01234 767037 Features: Lake with surrounding scrub. Wildfowl and gulls (large winter gull roost), passage terns and waders. April 2000 will see thhe lake incorporated into the Stewartby Millennium Country Park, with a new reedbed, winter-flooded grassland, visitor centre, hides, cycle track and horse trails.

Priory Country Park, Bedford Former gravel pits. Location: SE edge of Bedford, adjacent to River Great Ouse Road: Barkers Lane off A428, or through Priory Business Park off A421 Bedford bypass Admission: Free Facilities Visitor centre with 2 hides Features: Former gravel pits with areas of scrub and woodland. Winter wildfowl, passage terns and waders, and Water Rail all year.

- original content from Birds of Britain



This is a list of all the main nature reserves in Bedfordshire, or managed by a Beds local organisation:

• Abington Meadows
• Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows
• Arthur’s meadow
• Barford Wood and Meadows
• Barnes Meadow
• Barton Gravel Pit
• Beechwoods
• Begwary Brook
• Blow’s Downs
• Boddington Meadow
• Bradlaugh Field
• Brampton Wood
• Buff Wood
• Bugbrooke Meadow
• Byfield Pool
• Cambourne
• Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits
• Chettisham Meadow
• Collyweston Quarries
• Cooper’s Hill
• Cople Pits
• Cut-throat Meadow
• Ditchford Lakes and Meadows
• Doghouse Grove
• Dogsthorpe Star Pit
• Dropshort Marsh
• Duston Mill Meadow
• Eye Green Brick Pit 
• Fancott Woods and Meadows
• Farthinghoe
• Felmersham Gravel Pits
• Finedon Cally Banks
• Flitwick Moor
• Fordham Woods
• Fulbourn Fen
• Gamlingay Cinques
• Gamlingay Wood
• Gamsey Wood
• Glapthorn Cow Pastures
• Godmanchester
• Grafham Water
• Grafton Regis Meadow
• Great Fen
• Great Oakley Meadow
• Hardwick Wood
• Harlestone Heath
• Harrold Odell Country Park
• Hayley Wood
• High Wood and Meadow
• Higham Ferrers Pits
• Houghton Meadows
• Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows
• King’s Wood
• King’s Wood and Rammamere Heath
• Kingsthorpe Meadow
• Lady’s Wood
• Lancot Meadow
• Landpark Wood
• Lattersey
• Lings
• Lower Wood
• Millennium Country Park (Stewartby Lake & Marston Vale Brick Pits)
• Mill Crook
• Norwood Road
• Old Sulehay
• Old Warden Tunnel
• Ouse Washes
• Overhall Grove
• Pavenham Osier Beds
• Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit
• Pingle Wood and Cutting
• Pitsford  Nature Reserve
• Priory Country Park
• Ramsden Corner
• Raveley Wood
• Roswell Pits
• Rothwell Gullet
• Sallowsprings
• Sewell Cutting
• Sharnbrook Summit
• Shepherd’s Close
• Shepreth Moor
• Short and Southwick Woods
• Skaters' Meadow
• Soham Meadows
• Southfield Farm Marsh
• Southorpe Meadow
• Stanground Newt Ponds
• Stanground Wash
• Stoke Bruerne Brick Pits
• Stoke Wood End Quarter
• Storton’s Pits
• Summer Leys
• Tailby Meadow
• The Lodge
• The Plens
• The Riddy
• Thorpe Wood
• Titchmarsh
• Totternhoe
• Trumpington Meadows
• Twywell Hill and Dales
• Upwood Meadows
• Wansford and Standen’s Pasture
• Waresley and Gransden Woods
• Wicksteed Park
• Wilson’s Pits
• Wistow Wood
• Woodford Halse
• Woodston Ponds
• Woodwalton Marsh
• Wymington Meadow
• Yarwell Dingle and Pond

Latest bird sightings from Bedfordshire: