Summer Leys is a local nature reserve at Wollaston in the Upper

Nene Valley Nene may refer to: People *Nene (name), list of people with this name * Nene (aristocrat) (1546–1624), principal samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi * Nené (footballer, 1942-2016), nickname of Brazilian footballer Claudio Olinto de Carvalho * ...

, in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England. It is owned by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

Topography

The reserve, created from former

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

pits, covers just under and is primarily wetland, with some grassland and woodland habitats, and hedges. The grassland is managed by the use of grazing cattle and rare-breed sheep, supported by a grant from the SITA Trust. The northern perimeter of the reserve is delineated by the trackbed of the former Northampton and Peterborough Railway, closed in 1972. The reserve has four bird hides and a viewing screen. One of the hides overlooks a feeding station. A car park is available off Hardwater Road.

Designation

The reserve and neighbouring gravel pits, collectively the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits, are designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA) and a

Ramsar wetland of international importance This is the list of Wetlands of International Importance as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation movement, conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their econom ...

due to their importance for wintering wildfowl.

History

Until the 1980s, the area covered by the reserve was divided into two fields, the use of which was agricultural. They were then

quarried A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

for

by Hanson Aggregates. After gravel extraction ended, the quarry was landscaped.

Fauna

Several species of wading birds breed on the reserve, including oystercatcher, redshank,

ringed plover The common ringed plover or ringed plover (''Charadrius hiaticula'') is a small plover that breeds in Arctic Eurasia. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from ...

, and

little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...

. Significant numbers of

golden plover '' Pluvialis '' is a genus of plovers, a group of wading birds comprising four species that breed in the temperate or Arctic Northern Hemisphere. In breeding plumage, they all have largely black underparts, and golden or silvery upperparts. Th ...

s overwinter there. Ducks present in winter include significant numbers of

pochard Pochard is a common name used for several species of diving ducks: *Four species in the genus ''Aythya'': ** Common pochard, ''Aythya ferina'' ** Baer's pochard, ''Aythya baeri'' ** Ferruginous pochard, ''Aythya nyroca'' ** Madagascar pochard, '' ...

, shoveller,

teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is ofte ...

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

and

wigeon The wigeons or widgeons are a group of birds, dabbling ducks currently classified in the genus ''Mareca'' along with two other species. There are three extant species of wigeon, in addition to one recently extinct species. Biology There are t ...

. The reserve is frequented by otters. Rare insect species found at Summer Leys include the

hairy dragonfly ''Brachytron'' is a monotypic genus of European dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae containing the hairy dragonfly (''Brachytron pratense''), also known as the hairy hawker or spring hawker. Description The hairy dragonfly is named for its hairy ...

brown argus ''Aricia agestis'', the brown argus, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, north to northern Jutland (Denmark) and east to Siberia and the Tian Shan. Subspecies *''A. a. agestis'' southern and ce ...

butterfly, and the water beetle '' Hydaticus transversalis'', which was found there in 2008.

References

External links

Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire page
{{Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire reserves Tourist attractions in Northamptonshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Northamptonshire Ramsar sites in England Special Protection Areas in England Local Nature Reserves in Northamptonshire