Venus Pool ... nr. Shrewsbury .

[jada dulo]

I've had a quick look and to the best of my knowledge there are no threads on Shropshire patches so here goes ...

I've been going here for nearly a year now , well over 50 visits tucked under my belt , and it rarely fails to turn out at least one decent bird . I must admit moving to Shropshire 16 years ago played a big part in my stopping birding for so many years , I had convinced myself that it was a hopeless county for birdwatching with nothing really about , ever ... I couldn't have been more wrong , I was simply young and impatient and quite bitter about moving house and not just leaving behind family and friends but also my old local patch which I loved .
I never really 'stopped' birdwatching as I would constantly listen to what people had seen and also , very occasionaly , pop out birding for an hour or so , but never with any real enthusiasm . My thirst started re-kindeling itself about 8 years ago , just before I moved out of my Mum and Dads house , when my Dad ( a birder too ) saw a Great Grey Shrike on the garden hedge !
So , I began 2003 with all my thirst and hunger for birdwatching fully restored and it was about June time I think that I really began birding regulary at Venus Pool . I had travelled to other local sites , missing out on Black-necked Grebe , Spotted Crake and Red-rumped Swallow , all by summer .
But Venus granted me many ticks to my newly started life-list ( at the start of 2003 ) , Water Rail , Bittern , Firecrest , Spotted Redshank , Hobby , Osprey , Manderin Duck , Whinchat and Little-ringed Plover being the main highlights .
The biggest upset for me was missing a juv. Purple Heron that arrived and was seen for a good few hours , I was there that day too , earlier , but had left to take my wife for a check-up at the hospital ( she was pregnant at the time ) . I returned the following day for 8 hours but the bird was never seen again by anyone .
There were also 3 Little Egret present this year for quite some time and up to 44 ( highest count to the best of my knowledge ) roosting Cormorants .. plus the hot weather had reduced the water level so vastly it made fishing for the eels in there extremely easy for them . Over 80 Tree Sparrows present all year round and over 60 Teal counted . I'm not sure of the official site count but it must be inaccess of 150 !
One day a lone Grey Phalarope showed up , stayed for less than 10 minutes and flew off , it was seen by 3 lucky birders ( not me , unfortunately ).
But I think it is a good all-round site to visit , it has 5 hides , 3 are public and the remaining 2 are locked with only S.O.S. members having access , but I think the 3 public hides are by far the best anyway . So if your ever in or around Shrewsbury I can highly recommend a stop-by here , you will , I'm sure , find it a good place to visit .... and you never know , you might bump into me !

[Jane Turner]

Its got a great name! I confidently predict you will get a Blue-winged teal there ;)

[Stuart]

I know how you feel there, Ive just moved to Telford from Devon 5 weeks ago, and Shropshire doesn't have the same quality locations.But I have managed to get to Venus pools and it is a cracking place.Found my first tree sparrows there :bounce: Perhaps you can give me some other nice birding sites in and around Shropshire, as I must try and get out birding more...

[marting]

Hi Jada

Im coming up your way for xmas, staying with the inlaws in Bewdley which isnt too far from Shrewsbury. I am on the lookout for somewhere to go birding, so along with Chelmarsh and the Wyre Forest Ill have a look at Venus Pools.

Thanks for the timely report

Martin

[PaulAshton]

For Stuart and anyone else new to the area.

I've wandered around Shropshire and the Telford area quite a bit.

I'd recommend the quieter woods around the Erchall (smaller brother of the Wrekin), the mature oak woods around the wrekin itself (avoiding the footpath over the top), perhaps walking round the west side as far as the old rifle range.

Stand on the Wrekin and look south on a good day to view the following potential wildlife sites (a map will help you):

The Long Mynd has plenty of birds.
The Stiperstones can be impressive.
Wenlock Edge is good for woodland birds.
Brown Clee Hill gives a mixture of woodland and heath birds.
Wyre Forest.

Or perhaps travel to the east and try Cannock Chase. In summer it's a haunt of the Nightjar and is also full of fallow deer and more secretive reds.

If you go west a wee way (50 mins in the car) you'll find the Berwyn mountain range home to the biggest Hen Harrier breeding population in wales and also a great waterfall Pistyll Raeyhder (please excuse the inacurate spelling) where Peregrines are easily seen.

The book 'Where to watch birds in the west midlands' may introduce you to some good birding sites but check out the welsh borders aswell.

You can get into mid wales from Telford with no effort or north to the Dee estuary for the winter birds.

The West Midlands Bird Club have a few reserves near you aswell.

[scampo]

The Long Mynd is a wonderful place. I saw my first ever male hen harrier there. Bleak and windy though!

[paclett]

Hi stuart,

As with any county there are several site worth noting,
the Shropshire Ornithological site (SOS
the Shropshirebirds yahoo group
Wall farm site all contribute to giving the county a good covrage of what is going on.
and of course give details of all sites worth haunting

paul

[Stuart]

Hi stuart,

As with any county there are several site worth noting,
the Shropshire Ornithological site (SOS
the Shropshirebirds yahoo group
Wall farm site all contribute to giving the county a good covrage of what is going on.
and of course give details of all sites worth haunting

paul


Thanks for the tips guys, when ive got the xmas thing out the way, Im hoping to get back out birding some more ;)

[jada dulo]

Hi Stuart , other good site's are Belvide Reservoir , about 15 minutes from Telford down the A5 , but you will have to be a member of the West Midlands Bird Club to gain access to the hides . Well worth checking out though , I was there just a couple of days ago and narrowly missed out on Grey Phalarope ! nevermind ...
But there were huge numbers of wildfowl there including Pintail , Gadwall , Goldeneye and Goosander plus we also saw Redshank , Green and Great-spotted Woodpecker , Treecreeper , Goldcrest , Peregrine and large numbers of finch . Telford pulls the odd good 'un too though , on December 20th ( I think ) there were 2 Waxwing at the J4 ( M54 ) service station at Priorslee !! ... and Priorslee flash / pool has had a few this year too including Red-rumped Swallow , Black-necked Grebe and a Pectoral Sandpiper ( I think ?? ) .
Wood Lane at Ellesmere is a great place for gulls ( especialy Yellow-legged and Meds , they get quite a few each year so I'm told ) plus this year they have had Grey Phalarope , Great Grey Shrike and Pectoral Sandpiper also !!
Hope this helps ... I'm afraid Venus Pool has been quite quiet recently but I will keep you posted on any good sightings .
Around the Cressage area a female Merlin is being seen quite regulary , seen it once myself . Good luck .

[jada dulo]

There is currently a 1st winter Iceland Gull at Priorslee pool ....

[jada dulo]

Just got my wife to txt me my list of what I saw on my last visit to Venus Pool ( 23rd Dec . ) ...

c80 Tree Sparrow .
c60 Chaffinch .
c45 Reed Bunting .
c25 Yellowhammer .
1 female Brambling .
c20 Blue Tit .
c20 Blackbird .
9 Dunnock .
18 Fieldfare .
2 Buzzard .
1 male Kestrel .
8 Pheasant .
21 Black-headed Gull .
c200 Cananda Goose .
7 Greylag Goose .
11 Mallard .
1 Grey Wagtail .
1 Pied Wagtail .
1 Water Rail .
4 Bullfinch .
14 Greenfinch .
9 Great Tit .
3 Marsh Tit .
1 Coal Tit .
2 Wren .
6 Goldfinch .
5 Redpoll .
2 Robin .
1 Mistle Thrush .
15 Starling .
3 Meadow Pipit .
1 Snipe .
16 Crow .
3 Rook .
c160 Wood Pigeon .
11 Lapwing .
2 Moorhen .
1 Cormorant .
1 Grey Heron .
1 male Sparrowhawk .

.... what's that , 30 something species I guess ? .. looks quite good but that is a pretty quiet day at VP ... not that I'm complaining , far from it . Anyway , I'll add more soon ... bye for now ! .

[jada dulo]

Whoa !! Today ( 27th Dec ) there were c247 Grey Plover in a field just over from Venus Pool ... I'm at work now but hope they're still around tomorrow so I can see them . I saw about 50 odd Grey Plover in Cornwall earlier this year ... books dont do them justice I think , they look really quite nice .... if you can get close enough to them !! .

[jada dulo]

2 Goosander flying off and the large flock of finches and buntings were all that there was about yesterday !!
Well , lets see what 2004 brings eh ? Happy New Year everyone ... and good luck birding .

[jada dulo]

A quick visit today ( 2nd Jan. ) brought my year list thus far to 48 species !!
Birds of note were Little Owl , Green Sandpiper , Kingfisher and Great Spotted Woodpecker . A female Brambling was seen in amongst the large finch flock , but I failed to see it .

[jada dulo]

Got the Brambling and a single Redpoll , but best of all was a lone Barnacle Goose in amongst a flock of c200 strong Cananda Geese . There was a sighting of a Little Egret on the 4th , I was lucky enough to see it later in the day on the Severn !! Species list now on a much healthier 63 !!

[jada dulo]

Been today and got ... c.130 Chaffinch , c.120 Reed Bunting , c.100 Tree Sparrow , c.80 Linnet , c.40 Yellowhammer , 8 Redpoll , 4 Bullfinch , 2 female Brambling , c.20 Goldfinch , 25 Skylark and 1 male Sparrowhawk all in top field !!

On reserve ... 10 Wigeon , 1 Shelduck , 5 Teal , Marsh and Coal Tit's ... not much else really . Sightings yesterday of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Bittern .

N.B. Species list for year now at 91 !!

... and Shelduck makes my Venus Pool list now 110 species !!

[jada dulo]

Went again today , list of birds very similar to yesterday other than there were slightly more Yellowhammers , 4 more Wigeon had turned up overnight and the Shelduck had gone !
Thought I got a glimpse of a Water Rail dashing through the undergrowth but my view was so brief and poor that I cant count it on my year list ... shame , I really want to crack 100 by the end of January , I need 9 more species !
I sent a text to my mate that I had 2 Mistle Thrush today at Venus Pool , we were both talking yesterday that we needed Song Thrush for our year list but he also need's Mistle ! , anyway , he send's me a text back saying that he's in Grimsby and had just had American Robin !!!

[pigsonthewing]

Belvide Reservoir , about 15 minutes from Telford down the A5 , but you will have to be a member of the West Midlands Bird Club to gain access to the hides.More specifically, access to the site is by permit only. See:http://wwwwestmidlandbirdclub.com/belvide

--
Andy Mabbett
Webmaster & Trustee
West Midland Bird Club

[jada dulo]

2 Goldeneye today !!! A VP first for myself and take's my site list to the heady height's of 111 species ! :)
Still recent glimpses of Bittern being seen , although the bird is elluding me in 2004 so far .... but I'll get it . :D
Saw around 20 odd Redpoll there today with a very strong contender for a Mealy in amongst them . Can you count Mealy as a seperate species from Lesser on your year list ? does anyone know the 'official ' spool on this ? help please !

[jada dulo]

Ad. Night Heron !!! seen yesterday around 17:00hrs , dropped into reed's and hasn't been seen since ! Also , 4 Corn Bunting seen last weekend . Goosander ( 4 ) , Goldeneye ( 2 ) , Shoveler ( 1m ) and Teal ( 31 ) were all there was this morning worth noting .

[scampo]

Wow! But are night herons still escapes from Edinburgh (if I recall well enough)?

[jada dulo]

I've learned later today that yes , this one ( because of time of year ) is believed to be a ( qoute ) ' free-flying escape ' . So , there you have it . I'll be honest though , had I seen it , it would've made all 3 of my list's regardless ! ( life , year and patch ) .

[scampo]

I've only ever seen them on the continent - escape or not (I think they breed though) - what a siting!

[jada dulo]

Corn Bunting's have made a welcome return , I'm yet to see a definate one , had a poor sighting of a slightly dumpy looking bird in amongst several Yellowhammer ... couldn't be 100% what it was . But ! thay are there ... I'm looking forward to seeing one ... soon I hope .

[scampo]

Once common near to us but now a lucky find.

[jada dulo]

Saw 2 Corn Bunting today at VP , taking my site list to 115 species !! ( and my year list to 101 species ).
Managed to see Crossbill and Black-necked Grebe while I was off ... two nice additions to both year and life list's . :D

[jada dulo]

The Bittern has been making brief appearences pretty much every day now for about a week , although I still haven't seen it yet this year , proving a very tricky year tick !! Also of note was a 1st winter male Scaup yesterday , which I also missed !! ( :( ) .. and single male Pintail and Gadwall also seen in the last few day's.
The Corn Bunting's are continuing to show frequently as are 5 Bewick Swan's just a couple of mile down the road at Cressage .

[jada dulo]

Got Bittern today !! :D well chuffed ! Goosander there today also as was the male Gadwall plus 4 Corn Bunting in the top field ... a good morning birding me thinks !! :)

[jada dulo]

Bittern again today , flew over briefly @ 14:30 hrs !! Corn Bunting and c.70 Lesser Redpoll were about all else there was worth mentioning and a Chiffchaff on the 10th March and a female Merlin on the top field on that day also !

[jada dulo]

The last two visits have produced quite an array of bird's the best being the following ( seen on either the 4th or 5th April ) :-

Osprey .
Swallow .
House Martin .
Sand Martin .
Whinchat .
Chiffchaff .
Willow Warbler .
Yellow Wagtail .
White Wagtail .
Little Ringed Plover .

More to follow soon ....

[jada dulo]

9th April 04 . 08:00-09:45 .

The Osprey put on a spectacular display this morning , hunting for fish over the pool ! Hovering for short periods and then diving ! As it rose up from diving it would 'shudder' it's wings to remove any water on them ... brilliant behaviour I never knew they did ! On it's 3rd dive it did catch a good size fish and fly off and unfortunately the show was over !! It had lasted nearly 15 minutes though , so I'm certainly not complaining . Brilliant morning !!

[jada dulo]

Still rather peed off at having missed the Wood Sandpiper two days earlier I went this morning expecting little ! However , I arrived at 05:40am and soon got excited as I heard a Cuckoo calling not too far off . So , I attempted to mimmic the call and sure enough about 30 seconds later I caught a brief glimpse of it flying over the nearby tree's . Brilliant ! my first of the year .
About an hour later I enjoyed fantastic views of a couple of Reed Warbler climbing up the reeds and occaisonaly chasing off the odd Sedge Warbler which they had decided had got near enough to them .
As I reached the car I heard a bird calling , looked up and saw a male Whitethroat perched on the telegraph wire , calling away , apparently unbothered about me stood just 10 feet away .
And to cap it all , on the way to work shortly after leaving I saw a Hobby flying across the sky .... nice day !


N.B. Today , my site list reached 128 species !

[jada dulo]

Recently had an excellent view of a Bar-tailed Godwit , the second to drop in so far this year plus one was @ Wood Lane earlier in the year . Not bad considering not a single one was seen in 2003 in Shropshire !
A stunning pair of adult breeding plumage male Ruff also visited briefly recently . Good view's still to be had of Reed and Sedge Warbler whilst Garden Warbler and Whitethroat take abit more patience .
But , all this is nothing compared to the Pectoral Sandpiper which has been at Wood Lane for the last three days !! :^O .... fair play .

[jada dulo]

In the last week both Garganey & Wood Sandpiper have visited - although for only short periods ! The Little Egret numbers have risen fron two to six !!! Greenshank & Green Sandpiper are infrequent visitors also while Common Sandpiper numbers today counted as high as twelve ! There was also five Snipe , one Dunlin , Seventeen Teal , fifteen Shoveler and two Green Woodpecker .
Garden , Sedge , Willow and Reed Warbler are still relatively easy to see while Lesser Whitethroat proves slighty more tricky ! Whitethroat & Chiffchaff are also relatively easy around the reserve !

[jada dulo]

Excellent view of Goshawk yesterday ! Also about : 5 - Little Egret , 1 - Green Sandpiper , 6 - Snipe , 6 - Curlew & 1 - Common Sandpiper .

[tom mckinney]

Pec Sand this morning with 4 Little Egret and the Osprey still around.

Tom.

[jada dulo]

The Pectoral Sandpiper was certainly still around @ mid-day ( a first for VP incidently )! The Little Egrets have numbered as high as 6 but are generally only around either late evening or early morning . No sign of the Osprey .

[jada dulo]

This evening's count ( 16/08 . 18:20-21:00hrs ).

1 - Pectoral Sandpiper .
1 - Green Sandpiper .
2 - Common Sandpiper .
2 - Dunlin .
5 - Curlew .
3 - Black-tailed Godwit .
1 - Snipe .
1 - Ringed Plover .
4 - Little Egret .

Osprey was seen on & off earlier in the day .

[jada dulo]

Two further great sightings in the last week :-

Long-eared Owl - this little beauty showed well and stayed for at least two days , a first for VP !

Little Stint - also showing well & still present , to the best of my knowledge , since Sunday !

It's all good stuff y'know ? :D

[jada dulo]

Long-eared Owl showing well today and just after I left ( typical !! ) a Black-necked Grebe was also seen !

[jada dulo]

Yes !! After quite an extensive search finally saw the juv. Black-necked Grebe !!
And as if by way of reward for our hour-long search we we're also granted brilliant views of Osprey ! Watched it for a good few minutes , eventually it dived onto the near-by trout pool and was successful with it's first dive & flew off with it's prize ! Brilliant and spectacular bird !
Also saw Peregrine , Little Egret , Redshank , Curlew , Common Sandpiper & Gadwall !

[Andrew]

Great stuff, I wish I saw the Osprey suceed in getting a fish off the Exe.

[jada dulo]

Great stuff, I wish I saw the Osprey suceed in getting a fish off the Exe.


If ever your travels bring you up to Shropshire Andrew , I'll be more than happy to show you around and if we're lucky , Osprey are quite regular migrants at VP and are seen quite regulary successfully catching fish !

Best time for Osprey @ VP is certainly morning , between 7 & 8 am , I'd say . Good luck on seeing one catch a fish on the Exe ! Talk to again soon mate ! ;)