European Visitors by Graham Vernon (Hide Guide Volunteer)

Visitors from Norway

We had three visitors from Stavanger, Norway who were obviously keen bird spotters. I found that one of them, Erik, was already a member of the RSPB.

They were visiting several parts of England and as I said previously one was a member, Erik, acted as a guide for the other two. They were full of praise for our nature reserve, and that the visitor centres and the hides in their country were not as good, but our hide was closer to the birds.

They were really lucky to see a bird that is rare in their country according to their guide Erik- the grey wagtail. Their eyes lit up when they saw one in front of them.  They went on their way really happy and full of praise.

Other visitors from Rome in Italy

They arrived at the hide the next day some more visitors arrived; a father, daughter and son-in-law. It was the daughter and her Husband that were on holiday and due to go home to Rome two days later.

They really enjoyed their visit to the RSPB and asked if they could leave a message: “Very nice nature centre bird staff”!

The Staff at RSPB Sandwell Valley look forward to seeing all visitors either local or from abroad.

Something else I thought might interest you is the picture below of a Pale Tussosk Moth Caterpiller (latin name Calliteara pudibunda). This was found by a couple of our volunteers, Aaron and Andy.

For people interested in photography I took the photo with a Nikon D4s that had an 80-400mm Lens- hand held and no flash. Camera settings were ISO 2000, F9 and Speed 1/320

Finally, just a few photos so you can see how hard RSPB Volunteers are working to give nature a home for the winter.

This would have been done a lot quicker if the RSPB had more volunteers. So if you know someone that would like to help, ask them to contact the visitor centre on 0121 357 7395 and speak to one of their lovely team, who I am sure would more than happy to help.

Thanks for all your efforts so far and keep up the good work!