Guest Blog - Sandwell Swan, Alex

Our Sandwell Swans met up for their monthly activities on Saturday 16 January. They took a trip to the hide and then painted a photo of something wild they'd seen. We asked Sandwell Swans regular, Alex, to write a short blog on his day at RSPB Sandwell Valley...

"Today I enjoyed painting a picture of a blackbird on canvas with an artist. I also enjoyed walking around the reserve.

From the hide today I saw two coots walking on water and I really enjoyed watching them. I think the hide is a very nice place to see nature. Also I saw a fox walking just outside the window!

The nature is wonderful here and I will definitely visit again."

Alex Jefferson-Stokell, age 12.

Blackbird by Alex Jefferson-Stokell

Find out more about Sandwell Swans and when they're next meeting in our most recent programme.

Reflection Garden - A Community Project

Sharp eyes on the reserve will have noticed there have been some changes at the entrance to the reserve, between the den building area and the wildlife garden. Bits have disappeared and it's gradually being cleared. But why, you may ask.

As part of our commitment to The Heritage Lottery Fund, each year we take on a project that involves members of the local community. Project ideas are generated at a quarterly community forum meeting, attended by local people and anyone who uses RSPB Sandwell Valley (please see more details on the community forum below!) This year the site team and forum members suggested that this area of overgrown scrub could be transformed into a reflection garden. A quiet space for reflection and a new area to discover nature on the reserve.

Ben Iddon, RSPB volunteer garden superhero, is leading the quest to make this space perfect. Along with support from various local groups, first and foremost, students from the George Salter Academy. This friendly bunch visit us every Wednesday afternoon and have been working their socks off, as part of a Duke of Edinburgh award. Please stop and say hello if you see them hard at work, they're doing a cracking job.

Duke of Edinburgh students, RSPB Sandwell Valley

We have a number of other groups hoping to take part in the project with various plans for tree planting, sculptures and work party days. The space will have a 'cottage garden' theme and other ideas include a bench, water feature and incorporation of edible plants and fruit trees so the local community can really dig in.

If you'd like to get involved, have a suggestion of a group who might like to be or ideas for design features, we'd love to hear from you. Drop into the visitor centre or email lucy.hodson@rspb.org.uk

A Little More on the Community Forum

We're always looking to find how we can make RSPB Sandwell Valley a great place for the local community and visitors from further afield. The community forum was set up with the intention of giving local people the opportunity to have a say in the general running, improvements, events and projects of the reserve. Its aim is to encourage visitors by developing activities and events and making sure it is accessible, both practically and through better local understanding of what is on offer. The forum is open to anyone who uses the site and is interested in what we do. If you'd like to get involved, attend forums and tell us how we can make Sandwell Valley better, we'd love to hear from you.

To find out more email lucy.hodson@rspb.org.uk

Jenny Stevens (Connecting People & Nature Intern)

'Walk It Off' New Year Guided Walk - Bird Watching for All

Despite the thundering rain right through the wee hours of this morning, we had a cracking turnout for our first monthly guided walk of the year. And thankfully the weather decided to be kind.

Expert volunteers Colin Sedgwick and Alastair Hughes-Roden guided us, whilst I happily tagged along with the visitors. We set off through the wildlife garden, seeing only a dunnock, a few woodpigeons and hearing a robin. We weren't to know the reserve had plenty more in store for us.

Teal (Andy Hay www.rspb-images.com)

We walked along the Tame, keeping keen eyes on both the river and Forge Mill Lake, and quickly the birds obliged. We had helpful hints from Colin on how to tell our teal from our shoveller and our gadwall from our goosander, with glimpses of great crested grebe and a sparrowhawk along the way. The lapwings were pretty and plentiful, as always, and we played 'Where's Wally?' with the snipe on the bank of the island. We also discovered that the rumours about Stumpy the one footed oystercatcher returning to Sandwell early this year, were true.

Oystercatcher (Tom Marshall www.rspb-images.com)

After a fantastic close up of a goosander making it's way downstream, we headed to the hide to hang out with the cormorants, being serenaded by a song thrush along the way. Along with those who'd already obliged our binoculared gaze, we were treated to a dancing grey wagtail and a kingfisher flying along the bank, most helpfully, in line with the lake's numbered posts. Not to mention, an important looking grey heron.

Kingfisher (Mike Richards www.rspb-images.com)

On returning to the visitor centre, we sipped our hot chocolate and took a seat to enjoy the bird feeder show. Great tits and blue tits, goldfinches and greenfinches, long tailed tits and coal tits, reed bunting and jays, bullfinches and chaffinches. All topped off with perhaps the cutest of them all, a willow tit.

Snipe (Tom Marshall www.rspb-images.com)

For anyone new to starting a 'bird list' for 2016 (such as myself), it was a pretty brilliant start to the year. And the knowledge and enthusiasm Colin and Alastair have is infectious, making bird watching exciting and enjoyable for adults, experts, children and even for amateurs like me.

In total, we saw 45 different species of bird along the way. Here is a list of every single one of them...

Dunnock
Robin
Magpie
Woodpigeon
Carrion crow
Black headed gull
Shoveller duck
Teal
Greenfinch
Coot
Moorhen
Gadwall
Great tit
Blue Tit
Cormorant
Grey heron
Lesser black backed gull
Great crested grebe
Sparrowhawk
Mallard
Lapwing
Oystercatcher
Goosander
Pochard
Wren
Grey wagtail
Wigeon
Snipe
Tufted duck
Canada geese
Mute swan
Muscovy duck
Pied wagtail
Starling
Kingfisher
Reed bunting
Bullfinch
House sparrow
Song thrush
Chaffinch
Long tailed tit
Coal tit
Jay
Goldfinch
Willow tit

If you like to get outside and fancy knowing a bit more about the winged creatures you might see and hear, our monthly guided walks are a brilliant introduction to birds and the local area. They run from Nature's Reach visitor centre on the first Saturday of every month, starting at 10 am. It's just £3 for RSPB members and £5 if you're not a member.

Blue tit (Ben Hall www.rspb-images.com)

Our next walk, Winterwatch Walk, is coming up on Saturday 6 Feburary and you can find more details out about it HERE. 

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog and we hope to see you at Sandwell Valley soon.

Jenny Stevens (Connecting People and Nature Intern)