The secret life of sandwell slugs...

....not the most inspirational title for a blog post, but it is exactly what myself, two very dedicated rspb volunteers and a band of local youngsters found out on Tuesday night.

Every few weeks I take over the local youth club and try my best to get the kids excited about Sandwell Valley nature reserve, and just wild stuff in general. This week it was time to try out some macro photography (aka taking pictures of stuff really close up with lots of detail).

Before we headed over to the local community centre which hosts the club, I had to do a bit of searching through the undergrowth to find some creatures to photograph. It turns out that on a wet, grey, cold and muddy Tuesday afternoon, a 30 minute quick bug hunting session will reward the explorer with little more than woodlouse, several small slugs and a selection of earthworms. Perhaps I'm just not that good at locating insects, maybe I'll recruit a blue tit or a robin to help me next time (how do they find so many insects and make it look so easy).

So we headed out to the youth club at 7pm, equipped with digital cameras, spot lights and the stars of the show. At first the reaction was less than enthusiastic to say the least (we were competing with an xbox and a pool table). But I'm happy to say that after 5 minutes there was a handful of kids milling around our table and soon it was lights...camera...action. 

Taking pictures of small creatures is a lot harder than you think. The guys had to think about the lighting, the angle, background colours, the subject and master the cameras themselves. It really was quite tricky, but they put a lot of effort into getting the shots in focus.

Steady hands from one of the youth club members

Below are some of my favourite shots from the night:



I like to call this one 'woodlouse on the edge'

I would like you all to get your phones out, have a bit of a rummage in your garden, look under plant pots and in your flower beds to find some nice creepy crawlies to photograph.

Top tip: use an old paintbrush to collect specimens so you don't damage them!!

The pictures above show some of the amazing detail found in nature. It is waiting to be discovered if you just look close enough.

Location, location, location

As it's 'national nest box week' I thought I would take a moment to write a quick blog about the breeding season which is quickly creeping up on us. You might be thinking that it's a bit early to be taking about nest boxes and breeding birds, but it's not, I promise. This is a great time of year to put boxes up, birds are already setting up territories and looking for the best real estate to set up home for the spring and summer. It's all about location, location, location, birds are looking for the best places to raise their families and you have to start early to secure the best spot. This weekend we have a nest box building event from 10-2pm, and there's no need to book, just drop in. You will be able to build your own box to take home.

Here are some boxes I made with the local youth club a couple of weeks ago:

Perfect for blue tits

We all live by our watches and calendars and timetables, and often remark when seasons change, almost over night. I have found myself saying things like 'I cant believe its autumn already', sometimes it's as though you wake up one morning and the landscape has changed magically over night.

So what am I getting at?.....Well actually we can avoid this 'magic season change phenomenon' if we take the time to look and listen and even smell the world around us. You will find your senses become more sensitive to seasonal cues, and comments like 'oh wow it's spring already, how did that happen?!!!' will be a thing of the past.

If you go for a walk around Sandwell valley this weekend, you will find that spring is here already, and here are some signs:

A song thrush is singing in the first car park first thing in the morning at the moment. Singing means 'I'm setting up a territory' and 'Let's see if the ladies can resist this tune'.... It's a great time of year to listen to birds because the trees are still bare so it's easy to spot who the singers are. Birds generally don't bother singing in winter, it's a waste of valuable energy and they need to be looking for food in the colder months.

Another thing to look out for are the buds growing on the trees and shrubs, they're planning for the spring sunshine and know that the longer days are coming. A nice thing to spot in February are the catkins on the hazel tree, I just popped out of the office to get this picture to show you:

Hazel catkins

Catkins are basically the flowering part of this tree; other trees produce catkins too, like the willow.

Not convinced? Well as I sit here and write this blog, the office door propped open and I can hear an ice cream van making it's way along tanhouse avenue. Surely that's enough to convince any 'spring skeptics'?

Come down and see u if you can, or take a short walk around any green space near where you live and look for the different trees coming into bud and listen for singing birds. I guarantee it will put a smile of your face.

Nature's reach update

 Just a quick blog update today. I wanted to let you all know about the amazing progress of natures reach, the new visitor centre. The Harpers team have been working hard and the new building is taking shape. We have floors and walls and doorways, it’s very exciting indeed.

 

Have a look at these pictures:

Lesley looking good in her  safety gear

A view of the whole building site.

I want to say a huge well done to the building team!!!! Over the past couple of weeks they have been battling against arctic like conditions; frozen water pipes and frozen building materials have made their task frustratingly difficult. This week looks to deliver a milder forecast.

I went for a walk yesterday and I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face and I only needed one pair of socks. For me (as well as hosiery), by far the best signs that winter is on its way out are those that Mother Nature provides. Singing dunnocks in the hedgerows and snowdrops popping up everywhere tell me that scraping my windscreen in a morning might be a thing of the past.

Don't forget, sign up to the blog if you want to keep up to date with the building progress, wildlife news and all the other wonderful goings on down on the nature reserve. If you would prefer to find out things in person, you could always pop in and see us. We're open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.