WORCESTERSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Droitwich and Bromsgrove (both 3 miles)
OS Map: SO 936677 (Moors Pools), SO 932673 (Flashes Pools) (Landranger 150 Explorer 204)
Worcestershire’s premier bird-watching reserve is named after the late Christopher Cadbury who purchased it for the Trust in 1968. The reserve consists of a series of pools, freshwater and saline, created by land subsidence resulting from local brine extraction. The pools attract a wide range of birds especially waterfowl and waders, and the saline pools are important inland sites for saltmarsh plants.
Location and access: The entrance to the Moors Pool is on the A38 Droitwich to Bromsgrove road about 450m north of the Swan Inn at Upton Warren. A lane leads to a small car park. Please do not park on the lane, by the A38 entrance or near the houses.
Access to the Flashes Pools is from the sailing centre car park about 200m south west of the Swan Inn. Walk round the south west bank of the sailing pool to this part of the reserve.
Visiting Wildlife Trust members should carry their membership card, and non-members must obtain a permit (£3) either from the Trust offices at Smite or from the Outdoor Education Centre. Group visits by arrangement only.
Please use the paths to the bird-watching hides and do not stray from them as this disturbs the birds. No dogs allowed.
Nearest Station – Bromsgrove or Droitwich (both 3 miles)
Nearest Bus to Wychbold (0.5 miles)
Features:
| Great for bird-watching, especially waterfowl and waders |
| Abundant insect life |
The reserve, covering 65 acres (26 hectares), is in two distinct parts - The Moors Pools and The Flashes Pools. The pools owe their existence to past underground brine extraction, which has caused subsidence and consequent flooding.
The Moors Pools form the northern part of the reserve and are freshwater lakes formed on previous agricultural land. These attract a range of wildfowl and are also home to a wide variety of other bird species with breeding Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, and Redshank along with Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers and Reed Bunting. Hobby is present throughout the summer months and spring and autumn passage often brings Marsh Harrier, Osprey and Black Tern.
The winter months can be equally productive with one or two Bittern together with good numbers of Water Rail, Common Snipe, a few Jack Snipe and occasional Tree Sparrow at the feeding station. The surrounding reedbeds are excellent for reed loving species, most notably Cetti's Warbler and, during the winter, Bittern.
Insects are abundant on these pools - the ruddy darter frequents these pools along with the southern and brown hawker dragonflies. Banded demoiselles and blue tailed damselflies skim the surface of the pools.
The Flashes Pools form the southern part of the reserve. These are saline, receiving brine from underground seepage. The salt levels are high in places and completely prevent the growth of vegetation. In other areas salt-tolerant or salt-dependent plants form an inland salt-marsh unique to Worcestershire.
However, most visitors come to see the birds and the Flashes Pools are remarkable for their breeding and passage waders. Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Redshank and Avocet nest here. The variety of wader species increases during spring and autumn with regular Green and Common Sandpipers, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit. Scarcer species can include Ruff, Sanderling, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and maybe Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Little Stint or Curlew Sandpiper. There is also a greater chance of a rare wader occuring at these times with past records of Least Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Black-winged Stilt, Pectoral Sandpiper and Temminck's Stint. A Black-headed Gull roost increases in size from late summer and often hosts Mediterranean Gulls with the occasional Little Gull and has included both Sabine's and Laughing Gulls. A feeding station attracts a wide variety of the commoner finches with the occasional Tree Sparrow or Brambling. Peregrine is often present throughout the year perched on the adjacent radio masts.
There are several bird-watching hides overlooking different parts of the reserve.
More Information:
Visiting Wildlife Trust members should carry their membership card, and non-members must obtain a permit (£3) either from the Trust offices at Smite or from the Outdoor Education Centre. Group visits by arrangement only.