Top facebook2x Top twitter2x Top youtube2x Top instagram2x Top email2x Email us Top subscribe2x Subscribe Top search2x Basket Login Join
Home > About > Natural England SSSI
Home > About > Natural England SSSI

Natural England SSSI

Natural England has designated Upper and Lower Bittell reservoirs as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). The following citation describes the reason for the designation and can be found on the Natural England website.


"Bittell Reservoirs lie in the Upper Arrow Valley of north Worcestershire. They were formed by the damming of a large shallow basin in the Keuper Marl.

These reservoirs together form the largest area of open water in the county and represent one of the most important sites in the West Midlands for passage and wintering waders as well as other waterfowl, with over 200 species recorded. A variety of birds breed on the site including great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus, little ringed plover Charadrius dubius and grasshopper warbler Locustella naevia.

The reservoirs are surrounded by a diversity of marginal communities. These include a rare silt shoreline community in the draw down zone of Upper Bittell where the nationally rare plants slender spike rush Eleocharis acicularis and mudwort Limosella aquatica are abundant. The open water community is also very diverse with small pondweed Potamogeton berchtoldii, blunt-leaved pondweed P. obtusifolius and horned pondweed Zannichellia palustris, all of which are scarce species in Worcestershire.

The invertebrate fauna of the site is likewise rich and includes 5 species of dragonfly. The rare mud snail Lymnaea glabra also occurs."


Last updated 13:23 on 11 March 2024

© 2024 Barnt Green Sailing Club powered by Sailing Club Manager