Dogsthorpe Star Pit, Little Wood and Eye Green
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A pair of a brick pits abandoned when the clay ran out, where wildlife has developed naturally over the years |
Many of Peterborough’s old clay pits have been used for landfill, but the discovery of the wildlife value of these pits has helped to secure their future as nature reserves.
The main wildlife interest at Dogsthorpe was found to be the 63 species of water beetles that lived in the series of shallow, salty pools that existed on site while Hanson Brick were working the pit and pumping the water out. But by 1993 the site was closed, and pumping ceased. Over the following years, the water levels rose and the pit floor flooded. In 1997 ownership of Dogsthorpe Star Pit was transferred to the Wildlife Trust. Water was pumped out of the pit to restore the shallow pools so important for wildlife. Footpaths have been installed to guide you around some of the reserve’s many different habitats. Over the road is Little Wood, an area of ancient woodland with large pollarded oaks and a ground flora of bluebells.
Eye Green’s unassuming entrance gives way quickly to a large picturesque lake, fringed in places by reeds or bushes. The nature of the excavations and the dumping that has taken place at the brick pit has left the site uneven. In the shallow water of the lake’s inlets are dense beds of reedmace and common reed. They provide cover for water birds such as coot and moorhen, and support a wide range of invertebrates.
The dry land, once laid bare by machinery, has since been colonised, much of it by hawthorn which forms impenetrable thickets, perfect for nesting birds. There is also a substantial area of grassland that supports many wild flowers including pyramidal orchid and deadly nightshade.
The finger lakes at the back of the site are isolated pools which provide refuge for many invertebrates away from the fish in the main lake. Water voles can also be seen here.
Eye Green also contains a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest – geologists can see exposures of the March gravels on the east side of the reserve.
Birds: Snipe, long-eared owl |
Plants: Bluebells Birds: Little ringed plover |
Plants: Bee orchid, pyramidal orchid, common spotted orchid, grey club-rush Insects: Southern hawker dragonfly, white letter hairstreak butterfly Reptiles: Grass snake Birds: Little egret, greenshank, common sandpiper and ruff |
Birds: Migrant waders Mammals: Water vole |