Lound

by Gary Hobson
(originally co-written by Mark Dennis)

An updated visitors guide to birds and Birdwatching Sites at Lound Gravel Pits, Nottinghamshire.

Please note that work has been undertaken on Neatholme Scrape from mid-October to the end of November 2005 and will resume again in the autumn of 2006. The work consists of pushing soil from around the pit and pushing it into the water to create shallows, islands and wet grassland areas where reed beds will be planted.

Introduction

Lound is an umbrella term for a huge site stretching from the northern outskirts of Retford to Mattersey a few miles to the north. The most central point is the village of Lound, hence the name. The site is made up of a patchwork of habitats from arable farmland, wetland gravel pits, marshes, grassland to remnant woodland/plantation. By far the most interesting habitat to birders is the active and disused gravel pits. Visiting Lound is now fairly straight forward as most areas of interest are viewable adequately from public footpaths and bridleways. The only real difficulty is the ever changing nature of the site. Because of this, good spots for birding one year quickly become featureless reclaimed land the next. Probably the best way to keep abreast of Lound and its birds and habitat changes is by joining the Lound Bird Club, details of which are here.

Site History

From a birding perspective, Lound rose to prominence when gravel pits had been created and allowed to naturalise. Typically, much of the early habitat created was of the ‘finger pond’ type whereby gravel was excavated in strips, leaving deep channels and numerous islands. Further changes took place when the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB)and later Powergen, required dumps for the by-product Pulverised Fly Ash (PFA), an end result of the coal fired power stations which litter the reaches of the upper Trent. In many ways these PFA dumps provided better birding, albeit of a temporary nature, than the naturalised pits. The pumping of PFA into specially created lagoons formed scrapes and pools attractive to birds and birdwatchers. Ultimately these lagoons become full before being topped off and returned to agriculture and more recently Willow plantations as green fuel source.

Access to Lound

The main site is best accessed by taking Chainbridge Lane, a metalled, gravel track which runs west to east from Lound village and eventually crosses the River Idle and over Hayton Common to Hayton village. By carefully driving along Chainbridge Lane and checking either side of the road, various habitats can be covered. Nearer the village are paddocks and overgrown pits, further along and past the Tarmac and concrete works are Willow plantations on the right and the Notts Wildlife Trusts wader scrape on the left with a raised viewing area which is an excellent vantage point for scanning the whole area. Nearer the Idle is the Notts Wildlife Trusts Chainbridge Wood N.R. on the left and the large Chainbridge Pit lagoon on the right, all worth a look. Park at the bridge or carefully on the track, making sure not to block access. Depending on water levels, pits to the south might hold waders but, if visiting these, please stay on the footpath on the west bank of the River Idle. Alternatively by walking north (downstream) on the eastern river bank, you eventually get to view the Neatholme Lane complex, but do not ignore the farmland en-route and do not walk anywhere other than the banks of the River Idle. Cross the footbridge over the river to walk the lane and view either side of the track. Off Neatholme Lane you find former gravel pits, some of which have only recently been restored. It is possible to get back to Lound Village from here but its a good walk. Perhaps the best way to ‘do’ the site is by cycle, parking and birding in a loop down Chainbridge and back up Neatholme.

Access to Hallcroft

This site is relatively new but has been producing good birds and is easily covered. Accessed from the A638, Great North Road to Retford, turn left into Randall Way and then left at the end. Look to park sensibly next to the council waste site. SK693829.Walk along the track through the red gate to the dead end that overlooks the pit. View only from here and do not go over the fence. There is a footpath by the right turn to Hallcroft Fishery which skirts both pit and river and walking this track will bring you around the large pit past the weir and into the Bellmoor Gravel Pits area.

Other areas

The Wetlands bird and animal park is a great place for a family day out but is also good birding habitat and especially good for passerines. Birders can usually use the cafe there for refreshements.

Clayworth Common is the large expanse of farmland east of the river between the Chainbridge and Neatholme bridges. Hayton Common to the south over Chainbridge Lane now houses the newest gravel quarry which runs south to the little hamlet known as Tiln.

The Sutton Trout Lake (Doughty's Pit) is quite good and can hold numerous wildfowl especially in winter and can be found to the south of the Lound Low Road between the villages of Sutton-cum-Lound & Lound. The nearby sheep fields hold good numbers of winter thrushes and there is a shallow pool behind the farm which can hold a large grazing flock of Wigeon. There is a footpath through the farm but access around the Farm buildings is forbidden.

Walter's Lane can be good for passerines especially in the old Oak trees which run along the length of this track. The Farm area often holds large finch flocks but please respect the privacy of the residents here. Access this lane from Lound Low Road by following signs to the Wetlands Park.

Birds

It has to be said, the Lound complex is a great place in Notts for birds and some would say its the best through divercity of species recorded and habitats found here. It has produced some spectacular national and local rarities and will hopefully continue to do so. One of the best periods was in early 1990's when the first county records of Ring-billed Gull and Lesser Scaup were added to the Notts list. Five other very notable county additions from Lound are Blue-winged Teal (2000), Long-billed Dowitcher (1996), Baird's Sandpiper (1998), Killdeer (1981) and Bluethroat (Tiln, 1979).

The site has recorded American Wigeon three times, Caspian Tern (twice), White-winged Black Tern three times, Whiskered Tern (2003), Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Richard's Pipit twice, American Golden Plover (1998) and Arctic Redpoll (1996). County rarities have also included Little Egret, Spoonbill, Green-winged Teal, Rough-legged Buzzard, Pectoral Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper, Common Crane, Great Skua (twice), Razorbill, Shore Lark, Golden Oriole, Firecrest, Black Redstart, Ring Ouzel, Snow Bunting, Great Grey Shrike and Red-backed Shrike.

Winter can be excellent with both wild swans frequenting nearby farmland. Large numbers of wildfowl gather here with Pintail regular and Scaup occasional. The whole complex can hold nationally important numbers of Little Grebe, Gadwall and Coots with the latter reaching as high as the 2000+ mark.

Spring usually sees all the regular Notts wader species pass through at some time, along with Osprey, Quail, Black-necked Grebe and Marsh Harrier, which can summer. Garganey, Black Tern and Little Gull are annual as are Mediterranean Gulls but check carefully for hybrids.

Summer sees breeding Black-headed Gull and Common Tern. Hirundines gather in large numbers and its only a matter of time before a rare one occurs. Passerines are well represented with a mixture of gravel pit and farmland species, nine species of warbler are present in summer and all probably breed.

Autumn can be spectacular with lots of wader passage and on good easterly winds many passerines move through sometimes including Redstart, Ring Ouzel, Pied Flycatcher and in 2004 a Yellow-browed Warbler graced the Bellmoor area albiet briefly. Wildfowl numbers increase during passage and begin to build up for the winter.

Butterflies and dragonflies

The site holds all the stock butterfly species, 23 species in all and has recorded Brown Argus, Clouded Yellow and Silver-washed Fritillary. Dragonflies thrive here with at least 16 species regular and the potential for three others. Rarities have included Yellow-winged Darter.

Finally, Lound is a great place to visit and it's even possible to spend a whole day there and still not see everything. Like all sites it does have its share of problems with Egg collecting, motorbikers, jet skiers, illegal hunting and shooting, illegal fishing and fly tipping etc. The visiting naturalist should always report any such abusers to the Police. Also, as with any site, be aware of car crime and do not leave valuables unattended. Access to most areas is allowed but be sensible, do not enter areas marked ‘Keep Out, quarry working’, keep to footpaths and respect the fact that much of the site has heavy machinery working. Do not attempt to climb cross any conveyor operating or stationary.

The Lound Bird Club and the Idle Valley Society are very active and have done much work to preserve habitats and record the wildlife. A large proportion of the site has recently been designated a SSSI and will soon become a Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Reserve. Visit, enjoy and put your records in the Lound Bird Club Log on Chainbridge Nature Reserve Viewpoint.

Map of rcording area

Click on the map for a full sized version, which is a large file (1.7mb). Then close the map window to return back here.

Lound Bird Club

c/o Gary Hobson (Lound Bird Club - Secretary & Notts WeBS Local Organiser). Gary Hobson 23 Milne Road, Bircotes, Doncaster, South Yorkshire. DN11 8AL.
Telephone 01302 742779
Mobile 07712 244469
e-mail gary.lbc1@tiscali.co.uk