The Holmethorpe Sand Pits [or Holmethorpe Lagoons Nature Reserve to give it its full official name, part of the Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) Nutfield Marsh Nature Reserve restoration project, are to be found south of Merstham, Surrey RH1. Parking is best at Mercers Country Park Lake where a public car park is situated (but only open at selected times). Otherwise you must park in the residential roads north of the pits.
Grid ref: TQ294517
Location map: [1]
The largest waterbodies are: Watercolour Lagoons, Mercers Lake, Spynes Mere (another new SWT reserve to the northeast), Glebe Lake and Mercers West. Mercers Farm is situated east of Mercers Lake and has held up to 3500 Lapwings during winter. Yet another SWT reserve has been created to the southwest on landfill at The Moors. The latter site has a fair-sized bulrush bed.
An old landfill on the ridge west of the site has been landscaped but it has proved unproductive despite good coverage.
Holmethorpe currently has a bird list of 204 species including: Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Bittern, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Spoonbill, Whooper Swan, Tundra Bean Goose, Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Goshawk, Red Kite, Osprey, Red-footed Falcon, Avocet, Temminck's Stint, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Long-eared Owl, Hoopoe, Waxwing, Cetti's Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Bearded Tit, Great Grey Shrike, Snow Bunting.