Heron Lunch Time

This is one of many amazing blog posts from Ruth our fabulous Ranger Volunteer. You can find many more posts on her blog at  https://ruthlawt.wordpress.com/ 

A wonderful sight at RSPB Sandwell Valley this morning – a heron trying to eat a rat but it wouldn’t fit. Yep. Gruesome. Fabulous.

I was walking along the raised bank between the river and the lake and I spotted the heron on the river bank. It was behaving really strangely, dipping its head in the water then raising its head high as if it were eating something but it was so repetitive I couldn’t imagine what it could be eating.

It didn’t fly off when I walked a little nearer along the bank. My camera gave me a close up…

I realised that the heron was trying to change the position of the rat – perhaps it was worried that the rat was still alive and would escape so it was VERY careful. Eventually it was successful.

and once the rat was swallowed, the heron looked very smug.

By this time two other birdwatchers were following the story with me, but the heron was unfazed by our attention – it was too busy digesting! It took it a minute or two to fly off – weight adjustment I expect

The heron / rat lunch documentary was only one part of a lovely ranger session this morning. There was so much to see and enjoy – as always. I arrived a bit wobbly emotionally but by the time I left I had had a little weep, laughed aloud, gasped with amazement and ooh’ed and aah’ed a lot. Walking round RSPB Sandwell Valley is so much cheaper than the NHS

Ruth

This blog is one in a series we are running about the fabulous volunteers that keep RSPB Sandwell Valley alive and thriving. We want to show off the amazing mix of people who come here from all walks of life helping save nature and inspiring others about wildlife on our reserve, and we want to encourage you to get involved too. 
Whether it's getting your hands dirty, showing a little one their first frog, or being that friendly face in our new visitor centre there's something you can have a go at.  Visit rspb.org.uk/volunteering or contact Lucy hodson: lucy.hodson@rspb.org.uk, 0121 357 7395.

Recent Sightings: Birds of the Summer Holidays

So it's getting towards the end of the quiet bird season, and that vaguely warm time of year we often refer to as 'summer'. Despite the muggy weather over the last few days, we can sniff out the first few hints of autumn, and the birds are starting to get fidgety.

The month of August, and the last few weeks of the summer holidays saw all our feathery regulars taking a bit of a break after raising this year's brood, and a visit to the hide was often a quiet and lazy affair.

Graham is one of our newer hide guides, which means you'll often see him in the lakeside viewpoint waiting to greet visitors and point out what's about. Below is a collection of his photos, taken throughout the summer, of some of the bird life you can hope to see from the hide at this time of year.

 Hi! All

It’s time to show those of you who have not visited RSPB Sandwell Valley some of the birds you could see if you come at the right time of year (as you may know birds do migrate). There are volunteers like myself who man the lakeside viewpoint (hide) and we will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have. As I have said before; we know a man that can! So why not come and spend a few quiet moments or a chat at the hide?

 

One of the many beautiful lapwings, bathing in the shallows of the lake. Photo by Graham Vernon.

Two common sandpipers have been seen regularly from the hide from the end of August. Photo by Graham Vernon.

A common tern with chick, which bred successfully on the islands. Photo by Graham Vernon.

The pictures in this blog were all taken at the lakeside viewpoint and show birds from across the summer. If you wish, why not visit the centre Nature’s Reach and speak to some lovely staff, or even, as so many people do, simply enjoy a stroll round the reserve and see where the RSPB spend the donations given every month from people who care to give nature a home.

 

One of our oystercatchers, which also successfully raised a chick this year! Photo by Graham Vernon.

Late spring and early summer is the best time to catch a glimpse of the great crested grebe's famous courtship dance. Photo by Graham Vernon.

If, like me, you are a keen photographer, then maybe I can help you or even learn something from you; either way I will look forward to seeing you!

Meet Jake - Sandwell Valley's youngest volunteer!

Hello, my name is Jake,I am 7 years old and have been a regular visitor to RSPB Sandwell Valley for about 4 years.

Jake in his RSPB uniform - with his binoculars of course!

My dad is a volunteer for the RSPB & works with the children’s group Sandwell Swans which I go to with my sister Hannah.

Jake and his sister Hannah bird watching at Sandwell Valley

We help out with lots of exciting events at Sandwell Swans, including my favourites which are bug hunting and pond dipping.

When we first came to the RSPB, we really didn’t know what to expect but in time we got to know the really friendly staff & became regular visitors, to all of the events, which were then operated out of the temporary classroom.

Since then, I am a few years older & more knowledgeable about the things around me, and me and my sister have become RSPB Volunteers. I can identify most of the birds I see around the valley, as we attend the monthly guided walk & also told what’s around by some of the other Experienced Bird Watcher Volunteers.

A goldfinch feeding outside the Visitor Centre - Taken by Jake

Also I know a lot of the bugs, butterflies and some of the plants and trees. We also like looking at fungi but this I find is quite difficult to identify properly, so we are still working on that.

A peacock butterfly and a bee, both taken by Jake in the Wildlife Garden

Since the new Visitor Centre Nature’s Reach has opened, it has really improved the amount of things we can do around the valley, including being able to pond dip whenever we want to & having our lunch in the warm, while looking out of the window at all the different bird on the feeders & the fox & squirrel.

Finding newts, mayfly larvae and other creatures while pond dipping!

I think most of the staff now  know me and my sister, as we have been coming here for a long time now but they still greet us with a smile and are also very helpful and friendly towards us.
That’s the main reason we keep coming back to RSPB Sandwell Valley.

 Jake 

This blog is one in a series we are running about the fabulous volunteers that keep RSPB Sandwell Valley alive and thriving. We want to show off the amazing mix of people who come here from all walks of life helping save nature and inspiring others about wildlife on our reserve, and we want to encourage you to get involved too. 
Whether it's getting your hands dirty, showing a little one their first frog, or being that friendly face in our new visitor centre there's something you can have a go at.  Visit rspb.org.uk/volunteering or contact Lucy hodson: lucy.hodson@rspb.org.uk, 0121 357 7395.

Community Project 2016 - Give Sandwell Nature a Home

Giving Sandwell Nature a Home-

What’s this all about then?

Giving Sandwell Nature A Home is this year’s exciting community project from RSPB Sandwell Valley about enhancing wildlife in an urban space and giving everyone in Sandwell the chance to experience nature on their doorstep, boosting their own health and wellbeing.

The initiative will help transform green spaces that are perfect for wildlife and extend the size of the RSPB Sandwell Valley reserve. The team is asking Sandwell residents to get involved and help wildlife by creating bug hotels, nest boxes, and wildflower patches to house wonderful creatures in the Midlands.

Can you give our two legged, four legged, feathered, furry and scaly pals a place to stay??

Bird Lodge (Eleanor Bentall, www.rspb-images.com)

So how do I Join in?

Visit RSPB Sandwell Valley, and we will give you your own free ‘how to’ guide, giving you the knowledge you need to provide a range of homes for nature (find our address and contact details below).

Once your head is full of ideas, we want you to pledge a little bit of your garden to wildlife, in whatever way you can. Whether it’s a bug palace, sparrow street or wildflower meadow ( in a wellington boot or plant pot), we want to mark every new home for wildlife  on our map.

Welly planters (Martyn Poynor, www.rspb-images.com)

 Why should I join in?

A lot of our wildlife is in trouble, and creating small homes for nature can really make a difference. If we all do a little bit in our gardens,  imagine how much you could help wildlife on your street alone!

Giving nature a home in your garden is not just better for wildlife but better for us too – research shows that our physical and mental wellbeing is enhanced by contact with the natural world.

Bug Hotel (Eleanor Bentall, www.rspb-images.com)

Once you’ve got stuck in and done your bit for wildlife, we want you to share your photos on social media, using the hashtag #WildSandwell and in return, we’ll choose 1 lucky landlord from each of three categories to pick up one of our fab prizes.

#1 Friendliest Landlord Award – For those who’ve fully embraced the project and opened up their home to everything wild, with the most homes for nature. You’ll have more ways of welcoming wildlife in your garden than anyone else in town.

#2 Creative with a Small Space Award – We want to see just how much nature you can fit in a teeny tiny space. This award is for that special landlord who doesn’t have a huge amount of space, but has seen the potential in that windowsill/plant pot/bit of fence and turned it truly wild.

#3 Sandwell Showstopper Award – If you’ve gone all out and created a nature homing masterpiece, this category is for you. Your green space will have the razzle dazzle and creative flair of an all-singing, all-dancing golden eagle on Broadway. Now THAT’s a showstopper.

Enter your garden by sharing your photos on Facebook and Twitter and using the hashtag #WildSandwell

 Facebook: /birmblackcountrywarks

Twitter: /RSPBSandwell

Not on social media? Email your photos to sandwellvallley@rspb.org.uk with the subject line ‘Wild Sandwell’, or even bring them in to Nature’s Reach, 20 Tanhouse Avenue, Great Barr, B43 5AG.
Phone: 0121 357 7395. www.rspb.org.uk/sandwellvalley

  

The community project for 2016 aims to create more wildlife-friendly gardens and connect green spaces across the Sandwell neighbourhood, all made possible by funding from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

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.