View live streaming photos of nesting herons with new state of the art camera system

A brand new, state of the art camera system has been unveiled at the Mere in Ellesmere, an award winning park in Shropshire, England.

10 high definition cameras have been placed around the Moscow Island heron colony to provide close up photographs of the nesting birds, live streamed to screens inside the Boathouse café and restaurant.

Amusingly referred to as the “feather in the cap” for the town, the project was made possible by a public appeal that raised £35,000 ($44,300 USD, $70,000 AUD) to replace the old and ineffective cameras.

The Heronwatch Project has been around for more than 30 years, giving spectators a chance to observe the birds in a non-invasive way during the breeding season between February and mid-May. Photographers have previously gone under fire for getting too close to nesting birds. Last year, a man was fined more than £1,600 ($2,040 USD, $3,200 AUD) for disturbing an incredibly rare Honey Buzzard nest.

Josie Owen from the British Trust for Ornithology helped unveil the cameras, saying: "Raising the funds to do this is an impressive achievement, involving a huge amount of enthusiasm, dedication and hard work. This project is brilliant.

"It’s so important, so valuable for science and so much fun to watch and learn from. The detailed information that the cameras capture simply cannot be done by watching through a telescope. I don’t know of any system in the country that can achieve the coverage that this one can. It truly is a feather in Ellesmere’s cap."

Ellesmere’s mayor Councillor Graham Hutchinson described the Mere as "a jewel of the nation’s natural environment," and praised the Heronwatch volunteers for raising the funds to revitalise the camera equipment. He said: "The Heronwatch volunteers deserve congratulations for raising the funds to revitalise the camera equipment for this exceptional visitor attraction which is a key element of our local economy.”

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