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Description
Belvide Reservoir, a 74 hextares canal-feeder reservoir, was constructed in 1834 to supply what is now the Shropshire Union Canal. The site did not attract the attention of ornithologists until the 1920s, when A. W. Boyd began making regular visits and publishing his observations in 'British Birds' magazine.
Boyd and H. G. Alexander, a founder member of the West Midland Bird Club and leading British ornithologist, were responsible for putting Belvide on the bird-watching map and the reservoir soon became established as one of the most important ornithological sites in the Midlands. Owned by the Canal & Rivers Trust (formerly British Waterways), the site is leased to and managed by the West Midland Bird Club. It is scheduled as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under the stewardship of Natural England. Integral to the reserve is a 3 ha tract of broad-leaved woodland which is owned by the Club.
This woodland, which has feeding station observation areas, is home to a wide variety of woodland birds and this adds to the overall birding interest of the site which centres around a good range of breeding birds in summer, flocks of waterfowl and gulls in the winter and spring and return passage migrants, in particular wading birds that are attracted when water levels are low and there is an exposed shoreline. Rare birds here include: Red-breasted Merganser, Manx Shearwater, Savi's Warbler, Black-necked Grebe, Cattle Egret, Blue-winged Teal and Eurasian Spoonbill.
Details
Access
Access to Belvide Reserve is by Inclusive Club membership only of the West Midland Bird Club. Access to the site is restricted to the entrance to the reserve car park via Shutt Green Lane. Please remember that the access code to the entrance gate is time sensitive, running over the twelve-month-period ending 28th February; please refer to your membership card for gate code details. From the car park follow the woodland tracks via the feeding stations to reach the reservoir shoreline and from thereon the bird hides.