Shropshire Star

Salmon's fantastic breeding journey caught by Shropshire photographer

With a flick of its tail, this wild Atlantic Salmon clears the water of Shrewsbury's weir.

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The fish is just the first of hundreds to make the journey up the River Severn to the spawning grounds above.

Many more of the magnificent fish will be making their way upstream over the coming days, leaping high in to the air as they clear the weir to continue with their miles-long journey.

Wildlife photographer Robin Bennett, 47, captured photos of the first of this year's salmon to leap over Shrewsbury weir last weekend.

The father-of-three, from Much Wenlock, took advantage of some free time on Saturday while his 12-year-old daughter Marina was at a dance class to visit the weir and see if the salmon had started their annual migration.

"I had to wait an hour or two to see just a handful of fish but it was great to see them back again," said Robin, who runs a software business based in Telford and who uses a Sony RX10 to capture his wildlife images.

"It was lovely to have the weir to myself."

Last year Robin's best photo caught the eye of BBC Autumnwatch and was printed in national newspapers and he was shortlisted for the British Wildlife Photography Awards this year..

The 2015 salmon run was spectacular in Shrewsbury with low river levels keeping the salmon off the weir until late October. This year there is more water in the river and so Robin wonders whether the display will be as impressive.

"There is certainly more water on the weir this year and so I don't know how the salmon will react. We'll have to wait and see".

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