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Description
This reserve combines wetlands, meadows, woodland and farmland, with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and the River Tame running through it. There's good birding at any time of year and this is a particularly good site for Strigă, especially in spring and summer. There is a heronry where over 100 birds can be seen during breeding. Other breeding birds include Ciocîntors, Prundăraș gulerat mic, Rață cârâitoare, Cuc, Stufărică, Lăcar mic and Grelușel pătat. A few Egretă mare winter here but you might see one at other times of year.
In autumn and winter, you might find Buhai de baltă, Ciuf de câmp or Erete de stuf, as well as peak numbers of ducks and waders. There are also Ciocănitoare pestriță mică here and they're most easily seen in winter and early spring, sometimes at the feeding station. During the summer months, you could see a Șoimul rândunelelor hunting dragonflies. Some of the rarer birds that have shown up here in recent years include Fugaci pitic, Cresteț pestriț, Capîntortură, Prundăraș de nămol, Erete alb, Lăcar nordic and Pescăriță mare. In 2021, Buhai de baltă bred here, raising two broods. This was the first breeding record for the species in this region of the UK since the 19th Century.
Apart from the birding, there's also the nearby Middleton Hall, an historic manor house with gardens, shops and a cafe.
Details
Access
By train - The nearest railway station is Wilnecote, 2.5 miles away. On foot follow the signs towards Fazeley then turn left on the A4091 until you reach the canal. Walk alongside the canal to the reserve.
By bike - National cycle route 533
By road - The reserve is off the A4091 (near the M6 and M42) and signposted. Take the A446, the A4091 and Bodymoor Heath Road, which takes you to the car park, open from dawn to dusk.
Other ways - the Heart-of-England Way footpath and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.