Wildlife

The River Severn as it runs through Shropshire is like all rivers a natural wildlife corridor supporting a characteristic community of fish, birds and insect life. Riverside plants such as willows, rush and sedges enrich the banks and aquatic plants sway beneath the surface. Here are some of the commoner wild creatures you are likely to see as you travel along the Severn’s wild waters.

Grey Heron

A slender and remarkable bird, wide spanned wings with a delightful territorial habit which means you can with care observe them for quite a while as they set up a fish hunting station patiently waiting to stab down on their hapless scaled prey.

European otter

Thankfully this river icon has returned from the brink of extinction and is seen surprisingly often along or in the Severn. A large and beautifully adapted mammal, ungainly on the bankside but comes into its own in the waters. Keep quiet and allow yourself to gently and safely float to make the most of any sighting.

Grey wagtail

A busy riverside forager, dipping its tail in metronomic fashion as it picks over the gravels and woody debris of the shore line, always a treat to spot with its delicate colouring of yellow and pale grey, watch out for its black and white cousin, the Pied wagtail.

Atlantic salmon

Despite the challenges of surmounting the weirs and man-made obstacles of the past centuries the Atlantic salmon can still be seen powering its way upstream each autumn to its spawning grounds higher up the Severn and its tributaries. Care must be taken to not disturb the important gravels that hold the eggs. An enthusiastic crowd of salmon watchers gather each year on the weirs of the Severn including Shrewsbury, for a glimpse of these powerful fish.

Sand martin

A migratory member of the Saw-wing family of birds along with the swallows and swifts, this mellow brown bird specialises in tunnelling into the soft banks of the Severn to make nesting refuges and then hares back and forth scooping up insect prey for its bawling young. Take care if you have to come out onto the riverbank to avoid and protect these temporary river-cliff nurseries.

Club tailed dragonfly

In late May the nymphs of this Severn river specialist crawl up the banks of the river and break open their final moult to emerge, fill with colour and take to the wing. Large and noisy they fill the skies on some stretches of the Severn as it passes through Shropshire, below Ironbridge is a good place to enjoy them. Hawking to and fro you can only marvel at these prehistoric wonders.

Banded demoiselle

Flighty and wobbling on the wing these less certain pilots can be enjoyed in their hundreds. The glossy dark body is set off between the delicate wings with their distinctive dark marking. They will settle on floating vegetation, flotsam or disperse from the perches on river margin weeds, watch out for their close relative the Beautiful demoiselle.

Barbel

Powerful and the big river anglers favourite, likes to hang around in the slacks and by the crease, that dynamic line where flows collide in the river and cause a build up of food. A barbel is sleek and muscular, with distinctive touch and taste sensitive barbules around its mouth, it feeds on the riverbed. The Severn is home to nearly all native fish species in the UK from the rare shad to the child’s favourite, the Millers Thumb.

Kingfisher

Heralded by a loud peeping and the azure blue of its departing, this sublime bird is a popular sighting. Numbers vary from year to year depending on the weather but being territorial can be found most years on its hunting perch. In search of prey this aerial angler can nearly hover before its plunging dive onto a fry or minnow. A true river treasure!