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 !
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 !
