PBC Where to Watch Birds Tallington Lakes by Trevor Williams

The Tallington Pit complex lies to the north of the Stamford/Deepings road (A16T), between King Street to the east and the minor road to Greatford just past the level crossing on the outskirts of Tallington village.

Of all the man-made waters in the Peterborough area, Tallington Pits are the most commercially developed for the leisure industry. With their jet-skiing, fishing, caravan park and dry-ski slope, pressures on the natural environment are significant. Added to this is the lack of public access (you can pay as a day visitor to the caravan park, the last time I enquired, £3 entrance!) and you might be forgiven for thinking that Tallington pits have little to offer the birdwatcher. But these are some of the largest and deepest stretches of open water in the area and if you arrive early in the morning or visit mid-week you have a reasonable prospect of finding something of interest at all seasons.

The best views of the open water and surrounding areas can be obtained from the following locations. In the northeast corner, from the Greatford road, the top two pits can be looked over from the wooden five-barred gate past the last bungalow on the right. These waters are often the last to freeze over and can attract large numbers of diving ducks, particularly Tufted Duck and Pochard. They also hold the largest winter concentration of Little Grebe with often a dozen or more viewable at any one time. The pits are a good location for early arriving martins and Swallows. The sheep-grazed fields opposite are excellent for Skylark, thrush flocks and the occasional Wheatear.

The next stopping point is back towards the Stamford road (A16), opposite the concrete moulding works. The large corner pit with islands holds more diving ducks, including Ruddy Duck and the occasional Smew. Coot have their largest concentration on this pit.

Next on the itinerary is the gateway immediately on the left, having turned north on King Street at the West Deeping crossroads. The large open water here is worth checking for ducks, grebes and, as in the mid-nineties, divers! The thick hawthorn hedge marking the corner of the site provides good cover for feeding finch and sparrow flocks together with winter thrushes.

The last stopping point is the pull-in at Greatford Cut. Walking back along the road, the smaller pits on the right can be productive for a wide variety of wildfowl. Gadwall, Goldeneye, Teal and Wigeon along with the commoner species are present throughout the winter months, with Shelduck and Shoveler occasional visitors. The open pit adjacent to the slurry lagoon is the roost site for the area's wintering population of Goosander, peak counts of which have exceeded 40 in recent years. With birds flighting in long after the sun has set; this is one of the treasures of Tallington. The surrounding trees and hedgerows hold wintering flocks of tits. Siskin and can be seen in season.

The Greatford Cut is a good spot to see Kingfisher, usually perched on the metal pipe that spans the stream, and Grey Wagtail are often present on the concrete slope beneath the bridge. Finally, the small landscaped pit to the north of Greatford Cut, known as Stowe Scrape, is excellent for wader passage, with Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, Common and Green Sandpiper, Dunlin, Redshank and Greenshank all seen in reasonable numbers in the couple of years the scrape has been established.

To round off this review, raptors are frequently seen in this area. In addition to the common species of Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Osprey, Merlin, Marsh and Montagu's Harrier have all been seen in recent times.

Tallington pits can never equal the diversity and quality of birds at the neighbouring Bainton or Baston pits, but regular visits have their rewards, and one day will, I am confident, produce the BIG one.

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