Print pageStar species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
When the barn owls have young to feed, you could see them at any time of day as they scour the grassland for small voles and shrews to take back to their nest. |  |
This is the UK's most important site for breeding black-tailed godwits. Around 40 pairs nest here, with the males performing their display flights in spring. Thousands may also gather on the floods in winter before heading to Iceland to breed. |  |
Short-eared owls can be seen hunting over the grassland here in winter. The afternoons are a good time to spot them banking and gliding just above the ground, their piercing yellow eyes scanning for voles moving in the grass below. |  |
Shovelers are most numerous here in winter, but are also regular breeding birds. Watch them using their beaks like sieves to sift out microscopic aquatic life from the water. |  |
Snipe can be seen at the Nene Washes all year-round, but are easiest to see in spring when the males perform their display flights. They fly up high and then dive down, with their splayed tail feathers making a humming sound known as 'drumming'. |  |