My A – Z of Birding, Blogging and Volunteering Part 7

Two more letters on our ramble through my alphabetical wildlife footpath of the past five years…

R is for … RSPB & Reedbeds

Okay … I’ve cheated a bit here... think of this one as a BOGOF offer in this A-Z … for me reedbeds and RSPB are practically inseparable. When asked about when I go wildlife watching and what I get up to I quite often reply I spend an inordinate amount of time lurking in reedbeds! Most of those reedbeds are on RSPB nature reserves.

Most people will associate reedbeds with our summer migrants, but they always harbour a wonderful array of wildlife all year around. Both Cetti Warblers and those “near mythicals” of Bearded Tits do not leave our shores for warmer climes each autumn, but stick it out in good old Blighty. The reedbeds also offer great cover and feeding opportunities for Grey Herons and elusive Water Rails, as well as the enigmatic Bittern.

In summer they really come alive. Reed Warblers, Grasshopper Warblers, Sedge Warblers (and in the case of Newport Wetlands right now, Savi's Warblers) abound, and frustrate as they flit between the stems, making you hone your ID skills to a fine art. A few years ago all three of those birds would have sat in my “wassat?” area of the IDing part of my brain, but the more you watch the more you learn how to separate the species, and not just from their calls, but their behaviour.

R was always going to be for the RSPB. It is an honour to be a very small cog in the wonderful organisation that is the RSPB. I am slowly ticking off the reserves I have visited around the UK and Wales. The RSPB has evolved from its early days of saving birds like the Great Crested Grebe from the plumage trade, to championing all of wildlife. Some of those changes have been controversial, and even unpopular, but its core values remain close to my heart. Someone has to have a voice for nature; someone has to give nature a home, now more than ever before. I am proud to do my own little bit of banner waving for that!

S is for … Springwatch

As I said above, I have been lucky to visit quite a few RSPB reserves around the country during my travels. We quite often plan a weekend break around how close the nearest ones are. I am a frequent visitor to Frampton and Freiston, in fact the only reserve on the Wash I haven’t visited is Snettisham. It’s on the bucket list! Mine and Dawn’s honeymoon was planned around a bit of wildlife watching, so we started in North Norfolk, and then headed down to Suffolk. We had both longed to visit Minsmere, the RSPB flagship reserve and the whole beginning of the modern RSPB and its Avocet logo.

I am sure most of you will be aware that BBC’s Springwatch is coming live from there for the next three weeks. There are three things that have given me my wildlife education. The first are the wonderfully experienced people of RSPB Cymru, whether it has been dolphin spotting off the Carmarthenshire coast or rare orchid’s at Newport Wetlands. The second is through magazines such as Bird Watching Magazine, and of course there is no better way of learning how a certain species behaves than seeing it live on your television.

Can there be any better way of enjoying your corn flakes than booming bitterns at breakfast?! The red button coverage from Springwatch is essential background TV watching in this household for the next three weeks. I  sat yesterday morning for half an hour egging on the Blue Tits to fledge. The Blue Tit nest near my back garden by strange coincidence has fledged today; clearly the ones on Springwatch are camera tarts!

Minsmere is a perfect location to bring live wildlife from; we had two wonderful days there a few years back with our good friend Andrea, who has become a volunteer herself recently. It was also the first place I finally saw a Bearded Tit in the wild. All Springwatch has made me do is long to visit there again … now where is that cottage holiday brochure???

All Images © Anthony Walton