Tanholt Pit
by George Walthew
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PBC Where to Watch Birds Tanholt Pit by George Walthew |
| Sightings for past week: | All sightings | Excluding Common | Rare & Scarce |
| Sightings for past month: | All sightings | Excluding Common | Rare & Scarce |
| Sightings for past year: | All sightings | Excluding Common | Rare & Scarce |
This has always been one of the more obscure and largely unwatched gravel pits in the area. This is probably because of its rather out-of-the way location. None of the water bodies it contains is particularly large so wildfowl numbers are not an important feature of the site. In the 1980's it was important for its migrant waders with, besides commoner species, Little Stints, Curlew Sandpipers and even a Pectoral Sandpiper making an appearance. It also held good numbers of Jack Snipe on occasion and some less common species, such as Bewick’s Swan, Goosander, Scaup and Long-eared Owl have been seen.
The site has undergone some changes since those days with the current workings moving some way off and the older working being backfilled immediately and being returned to agriculture. The infilling with landfill has been with building and industrial waste which does not attract the large numbers of gulls as does the domestic landfill at Dogsthorpe. It does attract a few gulls though along with large numbers of crows.
The oldest workings have largely been left intact though succession has altered the habitats somewhat. Woodcock are now an important wintering species and Water Rail is more usual than before. The flooded pits hold a good variety of wildfowl if not in any numbers and the habitats look like they should hold some promise for migrants. There are still large weedy areas but I couldn't find any finch flocks using these when I visited the site in February, though there used to be flocks of 100+ Tree Sparrows, Linnets, Greenfinches and Yellowhammers. There also used to be Grey Partridges but I have not seen any at the site recently.
The once overgrown footpath which runs along the north side of the older workings has been turned into part of the Green Wheel cycleway network so access is not quite as difficult as it once was. Car parking though continues to be a problem. The site can be accessed either from the east along the cycleway which joins Willow Hall Lane opposite Willow Hall or from the west at Tanholt House Farm. The deepest body of water which holds most of the wildfowl, apart from the dabbling ducks, is visible from the cycleway but the remainder of the area is fenced off with a waist high wooden fence. Willow Hall Lane runs from the A47 between Eye and Thorney (signposted as such) to the North Bank Road. Tanholt House Farm is at the end of the lane opposite Eyebury Farm off the Eyebury Road south from Eye village.
