The Bucklands Pool/Backwell Lake Local Nature Reserve, southeast of the town centre and close to the Nailsea and Backwell railway station, was constructed as a balancing pond in the mid-1970s, and has since become home to various wildfowl and dragonflies and a foraging area for bats. Bird species seen on the reserve include gadwall, shoveller, pochard, tufted duck, grey heron and mute swans.[23]