Doxey Marshes

A wetland oasis near the centre of Stafford and one of the county's best bird watching sites!

Highlights

• Take an early morning walk in pring to discover the magic of a wetland dawn chorus

• Look and listen for Lapwing performing their tumbling display flight over the pasture in Spring, whilst calling out 'pee-wit'
  

• Keep an eye out for migrating birds as the reserve is well known for attracting lots of passage species and even the odd rarity!

• Visit in the winter months to see large flocks of waterfowl including Wigeon and Teal
  

Birds Galore!

Doxey Marshes is a fantastic place to discover birds with over 200 species recorded and over 80 breeding species.  The reserve is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its nationally important populations of Lapwing, Snipe and Redshank.

The reserve also attracts many rare birds every year, including the first ever Cattle Egret and River Warbler to be recorded in the Midlands region!

Not Just Birds!

Although well known as a great bird watching location, Doxey Marshes is also home to regionally significant populations of Otter, Harvest Mouse and Water Shrew.  The reserve is also home to a vast array of wetland plants, including the biggest area of Reed-sweet Grass in the Midlands.  In Spring the pastures are carpeted with flowers such as Lady’s Smock, Buttercup and Ragged Robin.

Water, water everywhere

The reserve forms part of the River Sow floodplain so is naturally a wet area and will occasionally flood.  Most of the large pools on the reserve, known locally as flashes, have formed as a result of subsidence from brine extraction in the 1950s.  These flashes are a great place to find many species of water bird including Tufted Duck, Goosander and Great Crested Grebe.

Mud, Mud Glorious Mud

Across the reserve are numerous muddy depressions known as scrapes.  These were created to encourage wetland birds such as Lapwing and Redshank to breed, as well as providing feeding points for migrating birds.