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| Logo by Nicholas Stevenson. https://www.nicholasstevenson.com/ |
2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of the establishment by Huntingdon District Council of our favourite nature reserve and I have been looking back at my bird records for 1989.
At this time no group existed but local naturalists and staff from the RSPB at Sandy were already active organising events on the new reserve.
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| Opening speeches, summer 1989 |
On New Year’s Day we staged a wildlife walk – just for our local villagers and we were amazed when 80 people arrived ! Another event that day was a roost count of cormorants at dusk - and the assembly numbered 300 birds – quite a sight for the local visitors from the village.
1989 was the first year that cormorants had nested successfully and, in due course, 11 nests produced young birds. Just 5 years later, during a period of very cold weather, our cormorant roost peaked at 860 birds, and during the day a very similar count was recorded at Grafham Water. Grey herons, another feature bird, had nested locally for many years and in 1989 nests numbered 25, a figure never reached since.
Winter wildlife included large flocks of lapwings, golden plovers and the now scarce skylarks out on the A1 fields. Brown hares were commonplace, but the now numerous muntjac deer did not feature at all in these early records. Around the hedgerows, it seemed that both yellowhammers and corn buntings were seen on most visits to The Pits. How things have changed !
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| Colour a Kingfisher with the RSPB. No wonder people are surprised how small a real one is! |
Around the Heronry Lakes we had gatherings of up to 400 coot, and pochard ducks were also very common Winter visitors, all those years ago. Of course, there were no birdwatching hides and few footpaths 30 years ago, so Winter birdwatching was a rather cold experience for the few observers.
The habitat for some iconic breeding birds had not developed, but I recorded 6 singing nightingales which had managed to reach us from Africa by 16th May. Paxton Pits would eventually develop into one of East Anglia’s most important sites for the world’s most famous songbird, and our nightingales soon provided wonderful opportunities for people from all over England to enjoy these birds.
On Sunday, 18th June 1989, we assisted HDC organise a Grand Opening of the Reserve by Patricia Shakesby, a popular actress from the well-known TV programme “Howard’s Way”. This event attracted over 700 people, and paved the way for the great success the Reserve is today. We now welcome on average over 100,000 visitors each year, demonstrating what an important place this is for the local community.
It’s not all good news. Turtle doves used to breed commonly in late Summer. I could record flocks of 20 birds – they are very rare today. However, we now have breeding terns and many egrets – both little and great – and one of these years they might breed here at Paxton Pits.
Lots more to tell, but I should record that the principal person responsible for encouraging the establishment of the Reserve was Dr Ray Matthews, who has now moved out the area. My wife and I are still active supporting the Reserve as we have from the very beginning.
So, what will happen in the next 30 years ? Who can say – but I forecast that we shall have breeding marsh harriers, avocets, bearded tits and egrets all breeding on our much extended nature reserve.
Why not be part of it all – call at our Visitor Centre and watch this space !
Trevor Gunton, January 2019
