Ellesmere heron webcams installed on island

Image copyright Ellesmere Heronwatch

Image caption A colony of around 25 pair of herons nest on Moscow Island.

Ten webcams have been installed on an island to allow birdwatchers to watch a colony of herons.

A grant of £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund paid for the cameras on Moscow Island in Ellesmere, Shropshire.

Images from the HD cameras, which are equipped with infra-red lights for night viewing, are being streamed live to the visitor centre.

A colony of around 25 pairs of herons nest on the artificial island.

Image copyright Edward Bevan

Image caption The webcams have been installed high up in trees on Moscow Island

Waste from the construction of a road in 1812 was used to create the island, which stands in a natural eight hectare (116 acres) lake.

Edward Bevan, from Ellesmere Heronwatch, said visitors were treating the life of the birds in the colony as a "soap opera".

Image caption Moscow Island was constructed in 1812 using the waste from building a road