As part of our #Volunteersweek celebrations, we wanted to share with you some of the stories from our very own RSPB volunteers. With almost 2000 volunteers helping in the South East alone, we can achieve much more for wildlife with their help than we ever could alone!
Dave Sneller has been volunteering at RSPB Pulborough Brooks nature reserve for about eight years. His role involves going out on the reserve and in the hides, helping to ensure visitors have an enjoyable experience and helping them identify birds and wildlife.
A couple of years back, Dave decided to set up a moth trap in his back garden in Arundel and became hooked! Since then he’s caught, identified and released over 500 moth species – amazing when you consider that there are approximately 2,900 species in the UK. Arundel, in West Sussex, is a moth ‘hotspot’ due to its varied habitats, encompassing chalk hills, rivers, beaches, trout farm and grasslands, and its proximity to the coast.
Moth trapping tends to be seasonal, from February to the autumn, and the best times to trap are on cloudy, warm and still nights. Dave’s moth trap consists of a light box with a mercury vapour bulb. On a good night he may catch over 200 moths! He carefully transfers them from the trap to individual pots in the refrigerator where the cold calms them to enable identification. Afterwards, he releases them about 100 yards away so they won’t be caught again. Dave uploads his data to the Sussex Moth Group where it can be used for the national statistical database.
Some of the most interesting moths Dave has caught to date include the death’s head hawkmoth, the olive crescent moth and the mervielle du jour.
Dave’s infectious enthusiasm for and knowledge of moths have enthralled many of the staff and fellow volunteers at Pulborough Brooks, and his ‘Moth Man’ title was given to him by pupils from a school in Arundel when he gave a talk there!
To find out about our volunteering opportunities near you visit our website.