The grottiest bird watching site? (1 Viewer)

[trw]

Where is the least attractive bird watching site anywhere?
My contender would be the sea container/bird hide at Heysham in Lancashire, in the shadow of the nuclear power station.
To reach it you had to walk through a down- at - heel caravan site.
The piece de resistance however was the 'bird hide' itself.
Fishermen and down and outs used it to relieve themselves then discard their fags and unwanted sarnies.The smell was something else.
Mind you I used to see some great birds there, especially feeding terns.
I can't think of a grottier spot.
Can you?

 

[Jane Turner]

At risk of alienating some good friends and great birders, the post apocalyptic landscape with a side order of petrochemicals and chlorine leaks that is Frodsham, takes some beating.

 

[dantheman]

Photos or links please ...

 

[njlarsen]

City dumps around the world can be a bit off-putting

Niels

 

[Jane Turner]

Frodders at its finest

https://frodshammarshbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/dsc_0096-copy-copy.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3703/11586874465_2d65e62dfd.jpg

 

[MSA]

Never been there, but my imagination suggests the "Pitta in the Shitta", Goa, would take some beating!

 

[Nutcracker]

Teescide.

 

[Selsey Birder]

Frodders at its finest

https://frodshammarshbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/dsc_0096-copy-copy.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3703/11586874465_2d65e62dfd.jpg

Looks very attractive !!!!

Ian

 

[Kathpeter]

Bit out of date here 'pratincol' the container hide at Heysham went years? ago. But you're spot on with your choice of 'grottiest site'

 

[foresttwitcher]

Canada de las Norias, Andalucia.

 

[trw]

Frodders at its finest

https://frodshammarshbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/dsc_0096-copy-copy.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3703/11586874465_2d65e62dfd.jpg

Oddly enough it was an item on the local news which brought this to the forefront of my mind-it was about installing wind turbines at Frodsham!
I remembered going there and, my god, it was grim!The bleak landscape and smoke billowing out of the factories and power station- it was so ugly it was almost beautiful!
Then I recalled Heysham and reckoned the old sea container/hide was even grottier.
I hadn't realised it no longer existed,the site was so bad I couldn't bring myself to ever go back there.

 

[Ian Foster]

Teescide.

Teesside is pretty grim.

About a year ago I attempted to park up by the beauty spot known as the Haverton Pipe Line but couldn't get parked as someone had dumped a dead Horse in the parking spot...

Ian.

 

[Jane Turner]

I never encountered the container, so I can't judge!

Teesside is twinned with Frodsham

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

Where is the least attractive bird watching site anywhere?
My contender would be the sea container/bird hide at Heysham in Lancashire, in the shadow of the nuclear power station.
To reach it you had to walk through a down- at - heel caravan site.
The piece de resistance however was the 'bird hide' itself.
Fishermen and down and outs used it to relieve themselves then discard their fags and unwanted sarnies.The smell was something else.
Mind you I used to see some great birds there, especially feeding terns.
I can't think of a grottier spot.
Can you?

If you have only ever been to one hide that people relieved themselves in on a regular basis you are quite fortunate.

I haven't been to many old fashioned sewage farms but standing on a now closed tip in Northern Ireland was far less salubrious than Heysham.

 

[Warixenjalka]

I can't compete with nuclear power plants and pertochemical factories but in some reason this old landfill is one of my favourite places in a neigbourghood.

The region is old river mout and has previously been even better birding paradise, but the expansion of the harbor has reduced the area and destroyed part of biotopes. Now river is controlled in some places to travel in the narrow channel.
South side of this area is harbor and couple square kilometer asphalt court. On the east side is the pulp mill and the west side is industrial zone (where I work). On the north, behind river is smallish forestarea.
When walking there, you should carefully watch your steps, that you don't step on to the sheet metal scrap or other old wrecks. (But also because you don't wanna step into the skylark or plover nest.)

 

[Jane Turner]

Of course what you can't see is the smell of Frodsham. Its not sewage, the muck scraped off its bottom to keep the Mersey Chip canal open is something altogether less wholesome

https://frodshammarshbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/27-04-131.jpg

 

[Warixenjalka]

But there can be beautiful too...

 

[Tarsiger]

Never been there, but my imagination suggests the "Pitta in the Shitta", Goa, would take some beating!

You beat me to it !! Luckily, on second visit found my own pitta elsewhere, so no need to return there.
Russ

 

[Andy Adcock]

You beat me to it !! Luckily, on second visit found my own pitta elsewhere, so no need to return there.
Russ

This site isn't particularly ugly, it's just risky to go off the path and as you scan with your bins you may actually find someone using the facilities!

I've been to a few dump sites in Asia which seem to attract flycatchers in particular.

There's an immense dump on the outskirts of La Paz I think in Bolivia (could be wrong about site and country!) which I've seen video of and which attracts record numbers of Andean Condor

Andy

 

[pppppvvvv]

Frodders at its finest

https://frodshammarshbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/dsc_0096-copy-copy.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3703/11586874465_2d65e62dfd.jpg

I see that as a triumph of Nature in the face of industrialism. I only see optimism and inspiration in those images.. Hope even