Fens Pools
Encyclopedia
Fens Pools is a 37.6 hectare (92.9 acre) biological site of Special Scientific Interest
in the West Midlands
. The site was notified in 1989
under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
and is currently managed by the Country Trust
.
Company, which was created by an Act of Parliament
passed on 2 April 1776 The canal opened in 1779, and the reservoirs fed into a navigable branch which joined the canal's main line at Leys Junction, close to the top of the Stourbridge Flight. This is a series of 16 locks through which the level of the canal falls by 145 feet (44.2m), down to Wordsley Junction, where the Stourbridge Town branch joins the main line. The reservoirs formed the main source of water supply for these locks, until it was supplemented by water leaving the Dudley Canal
with which the Stourbridge Canal made an end-on junction in 1792.
s, shoveler
s and gadwall
s can regularly be seen, while bitterns have also been observed. Some of the surrounding pools are also the home of the largest population of great crested newt
s in the West Midlands.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
. The site was notified in 1989
under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...
and is currently managed by the Country Trust
Country Trust
The Country Trust is a British environmental education charity.It manages a number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the West Midlands....
.
History
The pools, which consist of Grove Pool, Middle Pool and Fens Pool, where constructed as reservoirs by the Stourbridge CanalStourbridge Canal
The Stourbridge Canal is a canal in the West Midlands of England. It links the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal with the Dudley Canal, and hence, via the Birmingham Canal Navigations, to Birmingham and the Black Country.-History:The Stourbridge and Dudley canals were originally proposed as a...
Company, which was created by an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
passed on 2 April 1776 The canal opened in 1779, and the reservoirs fed into a navigable branch which joined the canal's main line at Leys Junction, close to the top of the Stourbridge Flight. This is a series of 16 locks through which the level of the canal falls by 145 feet (44.2m), down to Wordsley Junction, where the Stourbridge Town branch joins the main line. The reservoirs formed the main source of water supply for these locks, until it was supplemented by water leaving the Dudley Canal
Dudley Canal
The Dudley Canal is a canal passing though Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh connected network of navigable inland waterways, and in particular forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat cruising route....
with which the Stourbridge Canal made an end-on junction in 1792.
Wildlife
The pools are a large expanse of open water, and form an important habitat for over-wintering and migrating birds. Great crested grebeGreat Crested Grebe
The Great Crested Grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds.- Description :The Great Crested Grebe is long with a wingspan. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. The adults are unmistakable in summer with head and neck decorations...
s, shoveler
Northern Shoveler
The Northern Shoveler , Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and is a rare vagrant to Australia...
s and gadwall
Gadwall
The Gadwall is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae.- Description :The Gadwall is 46–56 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average 990 g against her 850 g...
s can regularly be seen, while bitterns have also been observed. Some of the surrounding pools are also the home of the largest population of great crested newt
Great Crested Newt
The Great Crested Newt, also called Northern Crested Newt or Warty Newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.-Distribution:...
s in the West Midlands.