Aldermaston Gravel Pits

Aldermaston Gravel Pits is a 23.41 hectare (57.75 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in the civil parish of Aldermaston in the English county of Berkshire, notified in 1955.

Located at gbmapping|SU596668, this site consists of mature flooded gravel workings surrounded by dense fringing vegetation, trees and scrub, affording a variety of habitats for breeding birds and a refuge for wildfowl. The irregular shoreline, with islands, promontories, shelteredeutrophic pools and narrow lagoons provides undisturbed habitat for many water birds including surface feeding ducks such as Teal ("Anas crecca") and Shoveler ("Anas clypeata"). The surrounding marsh and scrub are important for numerous birds including nine breeding species of Warblers, Water Rails ("Rallus aquaticus"), Kingfishers ("Alcedoa atthis") and an important breeding colony of Nightingales ("Luscinia megarhynchos"). [cite web | title=Aldermaston Gravel Pits | work=English Nature | url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002776.pdf#search=%22Aldermaston%20Gravel%20Pits%22 | accessdate=2006-09-23]

In 2002 English Nature bought Aldermaston Gravel Pits from the mineral extraction company Grundon for £925,000. [cite web | title=Million pound boost for birds and people | work=English Nature | url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/about/teams/NewsDetails.asp?Id=5&NewsId=280 | accessdate=2006-09-23] and it is managed as a nature reserve by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. [cite web | title=Aldermaston Gravel Pits nature reserve | work=Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife turst | url=http://www.bbowt.org.uk/content.asp?did=23917&nonews=&level2id=&level3id=&level4id=&level5id=&rootid=&level3=&level2=&level4= | accessdate=2006-09-23]

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/videonation/summerinaldermaston/summer.shtml Video of Aldermaston Gravel Pits from BBC Berks]