[1] More than half of the reserve consists of 19th-century oak woodland, which is now managed solely for its conservation and landscape value.

In 1942, nest boxes were erected at Nagshead, in the hope that pied flycatchers would control oak leafroller moth larva, which were defoliating trees needed for the war effort.

In 1948, the ornithologist, Bruce Campbell, began recording detailed observations of the boxes and they have been continually monitored ever since; making it the UK's longest-running bird breeding programme.

[2] Nagshead includes a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

A relatively small area of Nagshead reserve is designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.