Snap the valley and win a VIP experience!

I have to say, and this is not just because I work here, but Sandwell Valley is looking AMAZING at the moment. A million shades of green are bursting from everywhere and flowers are beginning to emerge adding a pop of colour here and there. The air smells sweet and is alive with busy birds and insects. The fruits of springs labour are beginning to show already with the arrival of 6 very adorable lapwing chicks on our islands this week.

Kate Middleton isn't the only one commanding 'baby fever' this month, our volunteers in the lakeside viewpoint are keeping their eyes peeled for any more new arrivals.

But....the biggest 'delivery' this season is not the imminent appearance of the third in line....it's Natures Reach of course, your brand new RSPB visitor center nestled in the heart of the valley and very nearing completion.

To celebrate this joyous bundle of bricks and mortar we have decided to host a photography competition. There is so much going on, people getting out enjoying the reserve now it's warming up and nature bursting from every nook and cranny. This is the perfect time to start capturing those amazing wildlife moments, spectacular scenery or even your friends and family enjoying their visit.

This is your chance to show us your snaps and perhaps win a prize. We want to see how you see the valley and what makes this place special for you. For me its the small things, the tiny flowers that often go unnoticed or the interesting markings on a tree trunk.

You have until the end of June to take a snap on the reserve and post it on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RSPBMidlands OR https://www.facebook.com/BhamBlackCountryWarks and tagging the photo with #Sandwellphoto.

The lucky winner will receive an invitation for two to our very special VIP residents launch event. You will get a 'first look tour' of the new building, and you will have the opportunity to take part in a guided tour and other activities. Or you could just sit back and relax, taking in the views across the valley and indulging in refreshments provided for our special guests. .
Now I am NOT a photographer, but I just popped out to see what I could get with just a spare few minutes and my camera phone, what do you think? - see below!

Basically, you can use whatever equipment you want to snap anything you want on the reserve and share it with us. The public will vote and you could win this exclusive prize.

Go on, have a go!!

Fuzzy bee getting stuck into a dandelion



Stripey insect enjoying the flowers on this garlic mustard flower

 

Rudy's Big Bird Watch

Over the Easter weekend, Rudy de Groot a Coventry schoolboy (aged 6) has been undertaking a bird watching marathon in the West Midlands to raise money for Freddie’s Friends, a charity which was set up in memory of Freddie Appleyard, the son of Rachel and Nooley Appleyard, friends of Rudy's family. Freddie’s Friends raises funds for specialist equipment, therapies, toys, short breaks and any help possible for local children in and around Hull with disabilities, life limiting illnesses and organisations associated with disabled children.

In the hide at RSPB Sandwell

Rudy put his newly developed bird-watching skills into practice at a number of West Midlands' bird watching sites over the weekend - at Coombe Abbey Park and Brandon Marsh in/near Coventry, and the RSPB sites Middleton Lakes, and Sandwell Valley. Rudy says: 'I absolutely love bird watching - it's so exciting - and I'm getting really good at identifying all the different species! I always try and spot something I've never seen before and I love visiting all the different hides at each site. It's a brilliant and fun way to raise money!'​. As well as being sponsored by many people to visit all four sites, Rudy’s corporate sponsor, MP Locums, sponsored him £10 per species spotted so there was a lot at stake in finding as many birds as possible! Here’s Rudy and his mum Helen’s account of their visit to the RSPB sites:

At Middleton Lakes, we undertook a massive walk around this sprawling RSPB reserve and were rewarded with a bumper crop of bird sightings (47 species spotted in total). We started well with spotting our first Chiffchaff very near the carpark at dawn, swiftly followed by our first Song Thrush. In the woods I hand-fed a very friendly robin and Rudy shared his trail mix with two nuthatches. We saw a tiny treecreeper in the wood too and a resplendent pheasant with his two 'wives'. After a long walk to Middleton's very posh Top Hide, we were assisted by friendly birders who helped us to spot some avocet, a little egret, goosanders, pintails, little ringed plovers and a couple of Mediterranean Gulls, amongst other birds.

Moving on to Sandwell Valley (which richly deserves its title as a inner city birding oasis), and despite the fact that we were flagging after a weekend of walking and watching, we were greeted warmly by Alex and the RSPB staff at the visitor centre. Alex had a bag of sweets waiting for Rudy and a very welcome sugar rush got him back on his feet. We were also pleased with the tipoff she gave us about the feeder where we could find bullfinches and we went straight there to find two males sitting in a bush waiting for us.

The hide on site was the friendliest we had visited so far – volunteers were on hand to help casual birders and even provide teas and coffees! Even though it was difficult to add new birds to our total at this stage in the weekend (we had already seen shovelers, teal, heron, great crested grebes, and oystercatchers – though very exciting to hear about their eggs!!) we added a pied wagtail and a starling to our total. Another long walk around another lake saw our final new spot of the day: two swallows diving around on the bank of the river opposite the hide (our first of the season). Sadly, the famous Sandwell parakeets were nowhere to be seen, nor did we see any kingfishers, but we had a fantastic time and have raised a lot of money thanks to everyone's generosity (£1570 so far). There is still time to donate via our Just Giving site: https://www.justgiving.com/rudysbigbirdwatch - we have been absolutely blown away by the generosity of other bird watchers that we’ve met this weekend.

Here’s our full list – the letters after indicate which of our four sites the birds were seen at:

Avocet (M); Blackbird (C, M); Black Cap (C); Black Headed Gull (C, B, M); Blue Tit (C, B, M, S); Bullfinch (S); Buzzard (M); Canada Goose (C, B, M, S); Carrion Crow (C, B, M, S); Chaffinch (C, B, M); Chicken (B); Chiffchaff (M); Coal Tit (C); Common Gull (C, B, S); Coot (C, B, M, S); Cormorant (B, M); Dunnock (C, B, M); Egyptian Goose (C); Feral Pigeon (C); Gadwall (B, M, S); Goldeneye (B); Goldfinch (M); Goosander (M); Great Black Backed Gull (B); Great Crested Grebe (C, B, M, S); Great Spotted Woodpecker (C, M); Great Tit (C, B, M, S); Greenfinch (M); Green Sandpiper (B); Green Woodpecker (C); Grey Heron (C, M, S); Greylag Goose (C, B, M); Jackdaw (C); Jay (C, M, S); Kestrel (B, M); Lapwing (B, M, S); Lesser Black Backed Gull (B, S); Little Egret (M); Little Grebe (B); Little Ringed Plover (M, S); Long Tailed Tit (B, S); Magpie (C, B, M, S); Mallard (C, B, M); Marsh Tit (C); Mediterranean Gull (M); Moorhen (C, B, M, S); Mute Swan (C, B, M, S); Nuthatch (C, M); Oystercatcher (B, M, S), Pheasant (B, M); Pied Wagtail (S); Pintail (M); Pochard (B, S); Redshank (B, M); Reed Bunting (C, B, M); Robin (C, B, M, S), Raven (C, B, M, S); Rook (M); Shelduck (B); Shoveler (B, M, S); Song Thrush (M); Starling (S); Swallow (S); Teal (B, M, S); Treecreeper (M); Tree Sparrow (M, S); Tufted Duck (C, B, M, S); Willow Tit (C); Wood Pigeon (C, B, S); Wren (M)

National construction company helps out local nature reserve

Workers from UK construction company, Cold Clad, were on hand recently to help out the RSPB at Sandwell Valley near West Bromwich.

During the construction of the new visitor centre, work was held up by damage that had occurred to one of the storage buildings at the site.

Holly Booker, RSPB representative, said “Our insulated storage building was damaged some months ago by vandals and we needed it to be fixed before building work could continue. This is exactly the kind of building that Cold Clad are experts in constructing, so they were able to mend it for us at no cost to the charity. We are extremely grateful for their contribution to our work.”

Some of the damage

All repaired

A poem of thanks, from rspb Sandwell Valley

In a quiet corner of the valley, known to most as Sandwell,

Is a special place where foxes and frogs and bugs and birds do dwell.

A place where locals come to unwind, relax and walk,

Where the bumblebees buzz and the birds sing and squawk.

We’ve been working hard for many years to give wildlife a home,

A place to explore and discover and where wildlife is free to roam

To make your visit even better, we’ve been busy in recent weeks,

Building a brand new visitor centre, we’ve called it nature’s reach.

Sadly, our progress has been a bit set back,

Someone came along and gave it a thwack, crack and whack

Maybe they though (we like to think) they were helping us out,

But some damage was caused when they gave the building a clout

The damage was a nuisance and came with a hefty bill,

How would we fix our building on top of the hill?

In the last week of February, to our surprise and delight,

Some people came to the rescue, a real life shining Knight.

Your Valley needs you!

Staff at RSPB Sandwell Valley nature reserve are looking to the local community for help. Most people local to the reserve know by now that a brand new visitor centre, with the best views in the valley, will be opening this summer.

It’s hard to miss the diggers, high visibility vests and all that mud. However, when the doors open in July, extra volunteer support is needed to welcome all the visitors, new and old.

Nature’s Reach visitor centre is just a few months away from completion and is set to be a vibrant and welcoming place for visitors to the valley. Located in the heart of the RSPB nature reserve, the building looks out over forge Mill Lake, wildflower meadows and a wetland marsh. It really is an unexpected delight to come across.

Nadia Shaikh, spokesperson for the RSPB said: “The centre will be a place where visitors can find out about wildlife, families can take part in a whole host of activities and somewhere to unwind and enjoy the view with a cup of tea.”

“But the most important missing piece is the friendly volunteer who will be there to help. We already have a great team of dedicated volunteers who help on the reserve, but with the new centre opening shortly we’re coming up a bit short and need some extra hands!”

The RSPB is looking for people who like to talk with a ready smile to welcome visitors into the centre and to help them make the most of their visit.

Nadia adds: “Is this the role for you? Do you like talking to people and have a spare few hours each week? You wouldn’t have to be a wildlife expert; this role requires a helpful and friendly personality for it to be a success.

“We already have a team of over 90 friendly volunteers who help us with everything from answering phones to digging ponds to counting butterflies; so you’re bound to make new friends too!”

For more information and a casual chat about the volunteer roles,  call the nature reserve on 0121357 7395 or email nadia.shaikh@rspb.org.uk.

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.