Linford Lakes

 History.

Linford Lakes Nature Reserve, formerly known as Hanson Environmental Study Centre, has been managed by The Parks Trust since 2015 and is regarded by the Trust as the most biodiverse site in Milton Keynes.

The site was for many years a centre of mineral extraction and in 1970 it was established as a wildfowl centre when the Chief Executive of Consolidated Gold Fields, the parent company of Amey Roadstone Corporation, Mr Rudolph Agnew asked the Game Conservancy to provide a plan whereby the site could be beneficial to wildlife conservation, once extraction was ceased.

Site ringing.

Northants Ringing Group began ringing on the site in 2014 and since then over 16,000 birds have been processed covering 70 species. Of these over 12,000 were newly ringed birds and over 4,000 were Retraps, birds ringed previously on-site or ringed elsewhere.

In 2017 the first Cuckoo was caught on-site, in fact a total of five were caught that year but then it was 2020 until the next one was caught, and they have been caught every year since. The bird caught in 2017 was adult, so would have already completed at least one migration to its sub-Saharan wintering grounds. This bird was then caught again in 2021, 2022 and 2023 which means that this bird may have completed around 52,000 miles undertaking its annual migration.

The ringer in charge of this site is Kenny Cramer.

Two Cuckoo's caught at Linford Lakes.