Gravel pits as new wetland habitats for the conservation of breeding bird communities

Gravel pit wetland habitats are a new and rapidly expanding feature of the contemporary environment in Britain. This paper investigates and emphasises their value as potential conservation areas for breeding bird communities. Most gravel pits are characterised by close proximity to man in an urban-agricultural environment, but contain a variety of aquatic, marshland and terrestrial habitats. Their breeding bird communities contain a wide variety of species, often at high breeding densities. As natural wetlands come under increasing pressure, it is suggested that these new wetlands are important for the future conservation of marshland and aquatic species, and may also act as reservoirs of diversity and abundance in a rapidly changing environment. Conservation of some gravel pits should be based on their overall value as conservation, education and recreation areas near urban centres, and others could relieve the increasing public pressure on natural wetlands. Present trends in the utilisation of gravel pits for recreation are discussed and ultimately it is hoped to show how conservation and recreation may or may not co-exist in the new wetlands of the future.