Discover Belvide Reserve

Belvide, a 180 acre canal feeder reservoir, was constructed in 1834 to supply what is now the Shropshire Union Canal, but did not attract the attention of ornithologists until the 1920s, when A.W. Boyd (who referred to the reservoir as ‘Bellfields’, to disguise its identity) began visiting regularly and published many of his observations in the magazine British Birds. Boyd, and H.G. Alexander who was a regular visitor in the 1930s, were responsible for putting Belvide on the bird-watching map and the reservoir was soon established as one of the most important ornithological sites in the Midlands.

Owned by the Canal and River Trust (formerly British Waterways) It is leased to and managed by the West Midland Bird Club. It is now scheduled as a Site of Special Scientific Interest under the stewardship of Natural England.

Despite its proximity to Wolverhampton, the A5 and the motorway network the reserve is essentially rural in character being situated in gently undulating mixed farmland. Apart from the reservoir itself there are a variety of habitats, including woodland, reed-beds unimproved pasture and depending on water levels muddy margins within a relatively small area and as a result there is a rich diversity of bird life throughout the year.