23/05/2011 - Permalink

Ellesmere herons make BBC TV appearance

Related topics: Leisure, culture and heritage

The resident colony of herons on Moscow Island at The Mere, Ellesmere, are to feature on BBC1’s popular Countryfile programme.  The television film crew came to visit the Boathouse Visitor Centre earlier this month (May 2011) to see the heron chicks before they finally fledged the nest.

The programme is scheduled to be screened on Sunday 29 May 2011.

Wendy Salter of Shropshire Council accompanied Countryfile presenter Julia Bradbury on the Lady Katherine Steamboat to the far side of Moscow Island to get a closer look at the herons.

Edward Bevan, Chair of Heronwatch – a unique project to help visitors learn about the breeding herons on Moscow Island – said:

“We’re delighted that Countryfile decided to visit and feature Heronwatch on national television.  Like all of our visitors, the film crew were fascinated by the live close-up images of the chicks on the plasma screens in the Boathouse.”

Wendy Salter, who is also a Heronwatch volunteer, said:

“Going around Moscow Island was a bit like going to the dark side of the moon!  The far side is a nature reserve and we don’t allow access, but we made an exception to enable the chicks to be filmed.  They were all eagerly peering over the edge of the nests at us!”

Heronwatch volunteers have been talking to visitors and monitoring the herons for over 15 years, more recently with the help of Heritage Lottery Funded equipment which was installed in 2009 as part of the Mere Heritage Restoration Project.

Ann Hartley, Shropshire Councillor for Ellesmere and deputy leader of Shropshire Council, said:

“Heronwatch are a very committed group of volunteers who have introduced hundreds of visitors and local people to wildlife on The Mere over the years.  It’s brilliant that the project is to be recognised on national TV in this way.”

If you are planning on coming down to The Mere, the heron chicks have now fledged the nests but video highlights of this year’s nesting activity are being screened inside the Boathouse Visitor Centre, which is open daily from 10am to 5pm.