Buckinghamshire Nature Reserves

Kingfisher Alcedo atthis ©Ashley Beolens Website

From the Thames Valley in the south to the River Ouse in the north, Buckinghamshire contains a wealth of interesting habitats, each with its characteristic bird community. Significant habitats include the Chiltern escarpment, the Chiltern Beech woods and the Vale of Aylesbury. Important bird sites within the county include Ashridge Forest, Black Park, Calvert Jubilee Brick Pit, College Lake, Great Linford Lakes, Little Marlow Gravel Pit, Steps Hill, Stoke Common, Wendover Woods, Weston Turville Reservoir and Willen Lake. The Berks, Bucks and Oxen Naturalist Society (BBONT) manage several of these sites.

The county can boast some rare breeding birds as well as providing important wintering areas for a number of species. Birds which breed in the county include Barn Owl, Crossbill, Curlew, Firecrest, Hawfinch, Hobby, Little Ringed Plover, Long-eared Owl and Nightingale, while the wonderful song of the Woodlark can again be heard at a few sites. Buzzards and Red Kites can also be regularly seen along parts of the Chiltern escarpment. Other species such as Nightjar, Snipe and Stonechat, breed occasionally.

In winter, wetland sites such as Willen Lake and Linford Pits in the north, Calvert Brick Pits, College Lake and Weston Turville Reservoir in the middle of the county and Little Marlow Gravel Pit in the south play host to many wildfowl that includes good numbers of Goosander at preferred sites and small numbers of Smew at others. In the Vale of Aylesbury large flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwing are annual. Large numbers of Gulls gather at rubbish tips and at roost sites in the county, bringing occasional records of scarcer species such as Iceland and Glaucous Gulls.

Waders are most often reported at the various water sites mentioned above, with the majority of records during the spring and autumn migration periods. Species such as Whimbrel, Greenshank and Ruff are annual but with many other wader species reported each year. Perhaps the most important migration site for passerines is Steps Hill, where birds such as Ring Ouzel are annual and significant movements of other commoner migrant birds are often noted.

The Buckinghamshire Bird Club is the major ornithological organisation in the county and organises evening meetings, field trips, conferences, surveys and publishes both a monthly newsletter and a county annual report. Apart from the clubs main function to advance the education of the public in the knowledge and understanding of ornithology in Buckinghamshire, the club also collects and provides data to planning and conservation bodies. Further details of the club and it`s activities given in the clubs website at www.BucksBirdClub.co.uk - by Fatbirder

Church Wood, Hedgerley (RSPB)

Nuthatch Chiltern woodland. Location: 3 miles from J2 M40 in Hedgerley village. Admission: Free Facilities: Paths. Telephone: 01295 253330 Features: The woods have bluebells in spring. Woodpeckers, Nuthatch (illustrated right) and other typical woodland birds.

College Lake Wildlife Centre, Tring (Wildlife Trusts)

Lake with islands and marshy area. Location: SP935139 - Bulbourne near Tring. Road: B488 Facilities: Visitor Centre, 10 hides and well marked trails Admission: Permit required from site (free to BBOWT members). Telephone: 01296 662890 Features: Tern nesting rafts, Kingfisher. Passage waders and winter wildfowl. Good for butterflies and dragonflies.

Weston Turville, Aylesbury / Wendover (Wildlife Trusts)

Reservoir with reedbeds. Location: SP863096 - N of A413 between Aylesbury and Wendover Facilities: Public Hide. Parking in large layby. Admission: Public footpath along perimeter. Features: Breeding Reed and Sedge Warblers, Little and Great-crested Grebes. Passage terns and winter wildfowl and gulls. - original content from Birds of Britain

This is a list of all the main nature reserves in Buckinghamshire, or managed by a Bucks local organisation.

• Ardley Wood Quarry
• Asham Meads
• Ashridge Estate
• Aston Clinton Ragpits
• Audrey's Meadow
• Avery's Pightle
• Bacombe Hill
• Bernwood Meadows
• Blenheim Farm
• Bowdown Woods
• Bray Pit
• Bucklebury Common
• Calvert Jubilee
• Chawridge Bank
• Chimney Meadows
• Chinnor Hill
• Cholsey Marsh
• Church Wood (RSPB)
• College Lake
• CS Lewis Nature Reserve
• Dancersend with Pavis Woods
• Decoy Heath
• Dry Sandford Pit
• Finemere Wood
• Foxholes
• Glyme Valley
• Gomm Valley
• Grangelands and The Rifle Range
• Greenham and Crookham Commons
• Hartslock
• Haymill Valley
• Hitchcopse Pit
• Hog and Hollowhill Woods
• Homefield Wood
• Hook Norton Cutting
• Hosehill Lake
• Hurley Chalk Pit
• Iffley Meadows
• Inkpen Common
• Inkpen Crocus Field
• Kintbury Newt Ponds
• Lamb's Pool
• Lashford Lane Fen
• Letcombe Valley
• Little Linford Wood
• Loddon Nature Reserve
• Long Grove Wood
• Millfield Wood
• Moor Copse
• Nature Discovery Centre
• Oakley Hill
• Oxey Mead
• Padworth Common
• Paices Wood
• Parsonage Moor
• Pilch Field
• Rack Marsh
• Rushbeds Wood
• Seven Barrows
• Shepperlands Farm
• Snelsmore Common
• Sole Common Pond
• Sydlings Copse
• Thatcham Reedbeds
• Tuckmill Meadow
• Upper Ray Meadows
• Warburg Nature Reserve
• Warren Bank
• Watts Bank
• Wells Farm
• Weston Turville Reservoir
• Westwell Gorse
• Whitecross Green Wood
• Wildmoor Heath
• Wokefield Common
• Woodsides Meadow
• Yoesden

Latest bird sightings from Buckinghamshire: