RSPB Headquarters, The Lodge, Sandy Bedfordshire

The Lodge is the national headquarters of the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds (RSPB). The RSPB administers a 100 acre plot of woodlands and sandy heath with trails and wheelchair access to hides for bird and animal observation.

The nature reserve is a mixture of woodland, grassland, and heathland and includes the formal gardens of the RSPB's UK headquarters. In winter, you can watch many birds feeding on the birdtables from the Lake hide. The formal gardens are peat-free and run by organic methods, as is the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) wildlife garden. The RSPB shop stocks a wide range of RSPB Birdcare, optical equipment, gifts, books and souvenirs.

More than 140 species of bird have been recorded round The Lodge - not surprising perhaps, after all it is our headquarters!

Paxton Pits Nature Reserve

Paxton Pits are flooded gravel workings in southwest Cambridgeshire, UK. Much of the former workings is now an important haven for wildlife.

In 1985 Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC), in collaboration with conservation organisations, the gravel companies, and water sports and angling interests, produced the Ouse Valley Recreation Local Plan, which included the establishment of a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) at Paxton Pits. Support came from many local people after a public meeting to discuss the proposal was set up by the RSPB.

Birds have been quick to take advantage of the new wetland habitats created by gravel extraction. As scrub and woodland develops around the Pits, other birds move in. Around 70 species breed regularly, with several dozen more spending the winter here. To date, 220 species have been recorded at Paxton Pits, though the 'star' birds are undoubtedly nightingales, other birds of scrub habitat, cormorants and the winter wildfowl.
 

The Visitor Centre at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve has had a facelift over the winter, with a £100,000 extension. It was re-opened on Friday 17th May 2002, by Chairman of Huntingdonshire District Council, James Fell, and Chairman of the Friends of Paxton Pits, Ray Matthews. Volunteers provide information and refreshments each weekend throughout the year.

The new centre is almost double the size of the original built in 1989 and enables volunteers to extend an even bigger welcome to the thousands of people who visit Paxton Pits every year. Funded by the owners of the nature reserve, Huntingdonshire District Council, it has allowed existing facilities to be upgraded, as well as providing an enlarged public area. The design and scale of the extension is in keeping with the reserve and the Area of Best Landscape designated by the Council. Designed by Pinelog Limited from Bakewell, Derbyshire, the Centre is built of wood and includes:

• A new reception area
• A large room that can be used for events and meetings
• An upgraded kitchen for preparation of refreshments
• Men's, women's and a disabled toilet
• An office for the rangers