Heronwatch

Heronwatch is now closed due to leaves on the trees

The minutes of the Heronwatch AGM from January 2007 are attached to this page

A podcast interview with Lynne Dean talking about all aspects of Heronwatch project can be heard on the Wood Lane Reserve website. There is a link on this page.

Contact Lynne Dean on 01691 624448 or email lynne.dean@shropshire-cc.gov.uk for more info

Heronwatch diary

July 08

Just a brief note to keep you all updated on the Herons at Ellesmere. We have seen a few of this years’ fledglings around the Mere. One even wanted to join in with the Triathlon in June by walking across the road to the Castlefields car park. It attracted much attention from the athletes and even the local police. One of our intrepid rangers went to its rescue and the divers took the young bird back to the island where it belongs.

9 May 2008

The leaves have beaten us yet again all this beautiful weather that we have been having over the last couple of days means an explosion of green has obscured the nests. Therefore the Heronwatch will cease on this Saturday 10th May but the monitor will still show live pictures if there is anything to see.

Those of you that have been to visit the Heronwatch may have met one of our band of volunteers, without them the project would not be the success it is. Their knowledge and enthusiasm still astounds me, they bring the project to life and more importantly the herons.

The three chicks on the nest cam are really finding their wings exploring their nests and the surrounding branches. Many of the nests have produced chicks but due to the problems with the camera at the beginning of the project we are bit unsure of the exact numbers.

If you have visited the project I hope you have enjoyed yourself and learnt how fascinating these birds can be. Next year we will hopefully be in the new and exciting Boathouse and Visitor Centre so look forward to seeing you there.

The Heronwatcher

15 April 2008

Hopefully the weather will carry on getting better and the sun allow us to see the chicks in the nests. It was a bit dicey with the snow we had last weekend but all the chicks seemed to have survived though we won’t count our chickens before they have hatched. Remember five years ago when we had some heavy snow in late April and we lost a substantial number of chicks.

The chicks in the nest cam are growing at an alarming rate; their parents are frantically bringing in food to quell the chicks hunger. We have managed to get the camera fixed we don’t know how this happened but at least we can now see the other nests many of which have chicks.

The nest cam has some really good pictures of the three chicks which are now starting to stretch their wings and venture out on some of the branches. The only down side is that we now have a spider that will walk across the lens and obscure the view maybe we should rename the project ‘Spiderwatch’.

Look forward to seeing you all soon before the leaves start hiding the nests.

The Heronwatcher.

Heronwatch is a volunteer led project helping visitors to Ellesmere view the heronry at The Mere. If you would like to get involved read 'volunteering' later on this page

The project runs from early March through to mid- May. Volunteers help visitors to view the nesting herons with the aid of a CCTV camera and a nest camera sending live, close-up images to a monitor in the visitor centre.There are also a number of telescopes and binoculars that the public can use.

Keep visiting this page during the project to see updates on the 'Heronwatch diary 2008'.

2007 Heronwatch report, along with reports from previous years, is available to download on this page.

Volunteering

The Heronwatch volunteers are the front line and heart of the project. As well as meeting and greeting visitors and interpreting the nest activity for the public, volunteers also monitor the nesting activity keeping records about many activities such as the timing of eggs hatching.

If you have an interest in wildlife and enjoy talking to people, why not consider becoming a Heronwatch volunteer. No previous experience is required and you can give as much or as little time as you like.

Find out more about the Heronwatch Project by visiting the BBC web page. There is link to the BBC website on this page.

Also, there are a number of Heronwatch Reports which will provide you with more information.