WHO? RSPB Sandwell Valley and the Community Forum

Hello and welcome to our first Community Forum e-newsletter! We thought we'd start with a little introduction to who we are.

RSPB Sandwell Valley is a a little bit of green paradise wedged between Birmingham and West Bromwich, in the north east corner of Sandwell Valley Country Park. Not only is it the perfect place to come and see a bullfinch or lapwing, it's also great for families and people of all ages and abilities.

View of RSPB Sandwell Valley
from Nature's Reach visitor centre (Jenny Stevens)

We have a fantastic team of staff and volunteers who keep the reserve spick and span, while always improving it for nature and visitors. You can see all sorts of different wildlife throughout the year, with great numbers of wading birds, wildfowl and woodland birds; butterflies and moths; creepy crawlies and even the odd mammal. To find out more about RSPB Sandwell Valley CLICK HERE!

Little Ringed Plover at RSPB Sandwell Valley (Andy Purcell)

Our shiny visitor centre, Nature's Reach, opened in July 2015, made possible by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. From there you can watch our ever-busy bird feeders, pick up a pond dipping kit, find out about recent sightings and grab a hot drink and snack.

School Group birdwatching at Nature's Reach.

And that's where the community forum comes in. It was set up when plans for the new centre were confirmed, with the intention of giving local people, volunteers and staff a chance to have a say in the day to day running of the centre and where it's headed. It's role is to input ideas and suggestions for improvements and help with strategic decisions. In addition, the forum works closely with staff and volunteers to increase awareness of the site and ensure the local community uses the reserve. The forum is open to anyone who uses the site (or would like to) and is interested in what we do. So please please get in touch if you'd like to get involved (please see contact details below).

Opening of Nature's Reach at Residents' and Local Community Launch Event.

Our current forum members all use the site regularly and are passionate about it's upkeep and it's future. We thought we'd ask a few of them to tell you what they love about RSPB Sandwell Valley and what it means to them...

"This is a lovely refreshing place to walk and reflect. It also has an interesting array of plants, birds and wildlife that makes walking around the reserve an enjoyable experience."

- Winsome, community forum member and local resident.

"I love RSPB Sandwell Valley because it brings the feeling of being in a rural area to an urban town. It is wonderful to be able to walk and sit in such beautiful settings located right on my doorstep."

- Lorna, community forum member and local resident.

"What does RSPB Sandwell Valley mean to me?

R - Riotous change in colour with the
S - Seasons.
P - Public appreciation of the
B - Birds and the
S - Scenic views from the
V - Visitor centre."

- Roy, community forum member, RSPB Sandwell Valley volunteer and local resident.

"I love that RSPB Sandwell Valley is this little green space in the middle of an urban jungle, with huge personality! It's perfect for all ages and interests, with so many activities running each year. The various wildlife that visits is incredible considering the location and the community spirit and passion for nature among staff and volunteers is inspiring. Whether you're a keen birder or struggle to tell your blue tit from your great tit, you'll be welcomed. What's not to love?!"

- Jenny, community forum member and Connecting People & Nature Intern.

"It may sound odd, but my favourite thing about Sandwell Valley is probably the people who donate their time and talent to us. Our huge team of volunteers (120+!) know everything there is to know about all of the feathered, buzzing, creeping-and-crawling, furry and colourful residents of this nature reserve, and will always stop to inform and enthuse you about the abundance of wildlife here!"

- Lucy, community forum member and Community and Volunteer Development Officer. 

Want to know more and get involved? Email lucy.hodson@rspb.org.uk

Stay up-to-date with the latest happenings and upcoming events by finding RSPB Sandwell Valley on social media. Like on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

A Day in the Life of... Andy White, Visitor Centre Volunteer

To celebrate how brilliant our volunteers are and give you a behind the scenes peek of life at RSPB Sandwell Valley, we're starting a series of blogs written by our volunteers about them and their roles at Sandwell.

First up is Andy White, who you'll find in the visitor centre on Wednesday afternoons. Andy's a cracking member of the team and his enthusiasm for wildlife is infectious so make sure you say 'hello' if you pop in and see him...

I suppose I was always destined to spend more time on Sandwell Valley once I had retired. After all, my ancestors were shepherds here 200 years ago, and for the past 60 years I have almost always lived right on the edge of this green oasis at the centre of our bustling conurbation.

As a child, my friends and I would roam the valley on summer days, building dens and playing Akee-123, only returning home for food. Latterly, as a parent, I have brought up a family enjoying all that the valley has to offer in respect of its history, recreation and most importantly its wildlife.

Therefore, when I finally decided to retire a couple of years ago, and I needed to fill my days, I needed to look no further than over the road to Sandwell Valley.  Initially, I just spent more time walking, running or cycling. It’s perfect for that.  But actually I felt I wanted to be more involved and became concerned over protecting the valley for its people and its wildlife.  So it was that I started to volunteer at the RSPB.

Currently I volunteer at Nature's Reach Visitor Centre for a half day each week. When it’s quiet, I get to spend a lot of time watching the many different birds on the bird feeders just outside of the window.  But when it’s busy I really enjoy talking about the valley and birds with the visitors who come in for information, a cup of tea or a warm-up on cold days.

I have seen huge changes in the valley over my life time, from the degraded scrubland and industrial landscape of the 1960’s, to the beautiful managed reserve we see today, and although I know it well I am still discovering something new each time I visit.  It’s a fantastic place and I’m proud to be a part of it.

Andy

Andy White, Visitor Centre Volunteer

Thank you Andy! If you like the sound of welcoming visitors to the centre, and spending some time chatting with other nature enthusiasts, we have a vacancy for this role on Saturdays and Sundays. To find our more information and to apply please get in touch with alex.sharrod@rspb.org.uk or call the office on 0121 357 7395. 

Jenny, Connecting People and Nature Intern

Fly by Night - Bat and Moth Night, September 2015

We had a fabulous bat and moth night on Saturday 5th September. We had a great number of visitors of the human variety, and some very obliging bat and moth visitors too.

We started the evening at Nature's Reach with a really informative presentation about bats from Morgan, our expert. We learnt all about bat behaviour and the various beasts we can find both here and worldwide.

Bat Detector (Tim Hunt)

Then we got our mitts on the super-cool bat detectors! Morgan treated us to a few different types, some relatively simple: detecting bat sounds based on the frequency they were tuned to, and some a bit more techy: capable of recording a number of different bat sounds, all at the same time, for analysis later on.

Bat Walk (Tim Hunt)

And so we were off! We walked down to the hide and within minutes, we had bats! We stood on the path by the Mini Beast Meadow listening intently to Morgan's instructions on using the detectors and were quickly interrupted by our winged friends flying overhead. We saw several pipistrelles on our way down to the lakeside hide and were treated to lots more, while shining our torches out across the water.

Toads in the hole

Before heading back up to see what moths were about, volunteer (and regular blogger) Tim spotted some more obliging beasts hanging out in the bee bank. We saw the unlikely trio of two newts and a toad sharing a hidey hole and plenty more scattered about the slope.

Moth Trap (Tim Hunt)

On our return to the visitor centre, butterfly and moth expert, Mike gave a brief talk on what we'd be likely to find and gave some great tips on identification. Then it was off out to the moth traps. We were quite early for our winged friends but still managed to see a good number.

Large yellow underwings were out in force and we had a fabulous swallow prominent. Small square-spots made a good showing, as well as a silver y, a couple of copper underwings and old ladys.

Large Yellow Underwing (Chris Shields www.rspb-images.co.uk)

We also had phoenix, flame shoulder, white shouldered house moth, double sqaure-spot, setaceous hebrew character, angle shades, six-striped rustic, common rustic and flounced rustic.

A fantastic night was had by all and we can't wait for the next one! A big thank you to Morgan, our bat expert, and our brilliant team of moth-ers for making it possible.

Jenny, Connecting People and Nature Intern.

Mammals and Monsters - October Half Term

October half term is fast approaching and we've got lots of delights in store for our fabulous visitors.

We kick off with Marvellous Mammals on Sunday 25 October, from 10am-12pm. We have small creature expert, Nick, dropping in to lead a morning of finding out all about our furry friends. We'll learn about the habits and habitats of mice, voles and shrews, along with their life cycles and what their preferred bite to eat is.

A little later, we'll set off on an expedition around the reserve, to see whether we can find any four legged lovelies. We'll make notes on where we find them and how we can help them thrive both at home and out in the countryside. Booking is essential, so please call 0121 357 7395 or email sandwellvalley.rspb.org.uk to secure your place. Find out more, including prices, by clicking HERE.

Bank Vole (Tim Hunt)

Wednesday 28 October sees the start of a 5 day long celebration of Halloween, with our Bat Trails! Take a trip around the reserve, answering spooky questions and decoding creepy clues. Collect all you need and you'll earn yourself a ghoulish prize on your return to Nature's Reach!

No need to book, just drop into the visitor centre on any day between Wednesday 28 October and Sunday 1 November and for just £1 per person we'll give you everything you need to get you on your spooky way.

Rahul Thanki (www.rspb-images.co.uk)

Then after all that excitement, we'll be really geared up for our family Spooky Halloween Walk on Saturday 31 October, the night when all the ghosts and ghouls come back to life! We'll start our descent in the hair-raising world of the reserve at 5:30pm, meeting the creepy crawlies that call it their home on the way.

There'll be a range of spine-tingling activities to get the goosebumps going, then hot drinks at Nature's Reach to bring us all back to life.... Mwohahaha! Click HERE for more information... if you dare!

Eleanor Bentall (www.rspb-images.co.uk)

If you'd like any extra information on any of the above events, or about the goings on at RSPB Sandwell Valley in the lead up to Halloween please don't hesitate to get in touch.

We look forward to welcoming you to Nature's Reach for a week of mammals and monsters!

Jenny, Connecting People & Nature Intern, RSPB Sandwell Valley.

RSPB Sandwell Valley Photo Competition 2015

To celebrate the opening of our shiny new visitor centre in July, we launched a photography competition in Spring, inviting visitors to showcase their amazing snaps of the valley on our Facebook page. The winner would be the one to generate the most 'likes' for their photo, being offered tickets for our VIP Residents Launch Event.

To see some of the cracking entries we had (and maybe spot your own) please click play below (full screen button in bottom right corner).

We had some stunning entries and a very worthy winner in Neil Mabon's 'Grey Heron'. Thank you to everyone who entered, what talented visitors we have!

Grey Heron by Neil Mabon

Jenny
(Connecting People and Nature Intern)

Fly by Night - 5 Fun Facts about Bats!

We've had a fantastic response to our Fly by Night - Bat and Moth Night on Saturday 5th September and we're now fully booked! Thank you to everybody who has enquired and we look forward to welcoming those of you with a space on Saturday.

After our recent blog Fly by Night - 5 Fun Facts about Moths, we didn't want to leave our flying furry friends out, so here are 5 facts about bats...

1. There are around 1100 species of bat in the world, the only flying mammal. Some of them can fly at speeds of up to 60mph and some can live to 30 years old!

2. The largest bat in the world is the flying fox. Found in Indonesia, they have a wingspan of 5-6 feet! In contrast, the smallest is the bumble bee bat, which resides in Thailand. It is just 29-33mm and weighs in at a teeny weeny 2 grams. The smallest you'll find in the UK is the pipistrelle, it's appetite however, does not match it's size...

3. The pipistrelle is a greedy little beast, it can eat up to 3000 insects in just one night!

Pipistrelle Bat (Chris Shields - www.rspb-images.com)

4. All UK bats use echolocation to find their way and their prey in the dark. This involves sending out high frequency calls and analysing the sound that bounces off objects around them. Clever, huh?!

5. Vampire bats are named after the bloodthirsty creatures in mythology, such as Bram Stoker's Dracula. However their saliva actually contains an anti-coagulant (conveniently called draculin) which may be able to help combat the causes of stroke and heart disease. Yay bats!

(Robin Boutell - www.rspb-images.com)

We're sorry if you didn't manage to grab a space on our event this Saturday but make sure you look out for the winged lovelies at home too. They're often spotted flying battily about in gardens nationwide!

If you've seen any in your own garden we'd love to hear about it on our Facebook page and Twitter!

Jenny (Connecting People and Nature Intern)

Home Grown Wildlife

Up until a few years ago I had always looked at overgrown areas of my garden as a bad thing, and that they needed maintaining like a lawn. 

It suddenly occurred to me one day that there wasn’t much insect life. In fact there wasn’t much life in general. It was time for change! Since then, I have been letting areas of my garden grow naturally. As another attempt at creating a home for wildlife, I placed wooden boards throughout the garden, which mammals and hopefully reptiles would utilise.

One of my wildlife boards amongst the grass

Juvenile bank voles in a nest under one of the boards

My results were astonishing. Within one week of placing down the boards I had mice, voles, shrews, toads and frogs living underneath them.

Within a few more weeks I had nesting voles under every board, even multiple nests under some. It was amazing to know that I had created an environment whereby creatures such as these voles, could see it as a home. 

Bank voles become sexually mature at just five weeks old. Female bank voles can produce up to four or five litters a year which explains the numbers found within my garden.

Adult bank vole

Juvenile bank vole

I think that until people can actually see how diverse wildlife in their gardens can be, things will not change for the greater good. Seeing is believing, so hopefully this blog post will excite you to let your garden grow. It’s really as simple as that. It doesn’t cost anything. Just sit back and watch your garden grow. The long grass provides shelter and protection from the elements for many creatures.

Since starting the study of my garden I have wanted to photograph a shrew with my field studio. Unlike the other mammals in my garden the common shrew is very elusive. I was once fortunate enough to come across a nest containing a litter of common shrews, but these types of situations are best left undisturbed.

I found this shrew (pictured below) under one of the boards that I placed down in the paddock. The image does not show size but I can tell you it was only around 5cm long (body only), so very small. It's long pointed nose and tiny eyes make the shrew stand out from other mammals such as voles and mice. Their short life-span means that it is uncommon for them to live for more than 12 months. Their diet consists of mainly insects but they will also eat slugs, snails and earthworms. The common shrew can be found widespread throughout Britain and comes in at second place in being the most numerous Mammal in Britain.

Common shrew

The wood mouse is one of the most common rodents found here in the UK. This one in particular lives under the stone slabs outside our kitchen. Every day I watch as they harvest up the spilt bird seed from the feeder that hangs above. Where there is food you will most likely find mice, or at least evidence of their nocturnal activities. In our conservatory there isn’t a seed packet that hasn’t been opened or bulbs that haven’t been nibbled.

From a photographic point of view, they are one of the hardest subjects to photograph using my field studio, due to their athletic ability and lighting fast reactions. So getting these shots was rewarding and a welcome change of subject.

Wood mouse

For the first time ever I came across a hedgehog in the garden. I’m still amazed at how bizarre they are with their spine-covered bodies and with their ability to curl up into tight ball. These amazing creatures are one to look out for as their numbers are in decline.

Hedgehog in defensive position (left) and non defensive (right)

Sometimes the places you least expect can become occupied by nature. This bag of builders sand was left over from some work we had done on the house. After several months the bag and it's contents had become a home for a whole host of wildlife.

This bank vole had built a nest in the sand bag. The nest has been built with dried grass. When I took this picture the voles had very recently collected some fresh grass to bulk it out. Nothing like a bit of home improvement!

Juvenile bank vole emerging from nest in builders sand bag

This toad is a full time resident in the bag.

   

This year had been an exciting one. Three out of the five boards I put down had multiple grass snakes underneath them. Being only juveniles it meant that I had breeding grass snakes in the vicinity, which was great to know.

Juvenile grass snake basking on top the builders sand bag   

Juvenile grass snake profile

I have very recently made use of this old children’s playhouse. Rather than dispose of it I cut the roof off it to make it into a grass cuttings box. I intend to attach a tarpaulin over the top. This should hopefully warm up in the sun and together with the warmth, produced by the decaying grass, should create a haven for grass snakes.

It's worth seeing what you have in your garden that could be made into a home for wildlife. Even if it’s an old bucket, you could upturn it, creating a dry home for some creature in need. Give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised.

If you'd like to find out more about the mammals residing on the RSPB Sandwell Valley reserve (maybe even meet a few!) and more about how you can encourage them to visit your own garden, why not join us for our Marvellous Mammals event on Sunday 25th October?? Find out more about it here... https://www.facebook.com/events/1686105998287474/

Tim Hunt (RSPB Sandwell Valley volunteer)