In June, content creator and author Sam Bentley visited RSPB Middleton Lakes, as he went birdwatching for the first time. Sam shares his experience below, from squeezing pineappleweed to spotting herons and footballers in the wild, and explains why nature should be at the heart of decision making.
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I read a meme a while back that said “As you age, it's ridiculous how fast bird-watching creeps up on you.You spend your whole life being 100% indifferent to birds, and then one day you're like "damn is that a yellow-rumped warbler".
That completely describes my journey into birdwatching. Low and behold, as soon as I started to take more notice of birds, I met the lovely Emma Marsh, Executive Director at the RSPB, at the People’s Plan for Nature event in Birmingham, and after telling her how excited I was about a new bird feeder I’d got, we arranged a day out to the RSPB reserve at Middleton Lakes.
We were lucky enough to be joined by Michael Copleston, RSPB England Director, who’s like a walking encyclopaedia as we ventured around the reserve. From teaching me all about different bird songs, introducing me to the Merlin App (which I’m now addicted to!) to showing me that when you squeeze pineappleweed it smells like pineapples, I not only had the best time exploring the reserve, but also had a number of takeaways to help me feel more connected to nature.
And that’s why reserves like Middleton Lakes are so important, to make us feel connected to nature. From helping our mental well-being, to helping us be more conscious of our natural world, having more time to spend in nature, and having better access to nature, should be something we’re demanding from our political leaders.
Nature should be at the forefront of decision making, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the only way we can guarantee a safe and equitable future for the next generations. RSPB do incredible work to champion conservation, and they’re proof that you can turn degraded landscapes into thriving eco-systems.
Michael, for example, had just travelled from the RSPB Langford Lowfields in Nottinghamshire where wildlife returned after ventures thanks to their incredible work restoring the landscape. We just need to give nature space to heal and have the policies in place to support nature recovery.
If you’re around the Midlands, I highly recommend Middleton Lakes (if possible with a pair of binoculars), and it’s especially great if you’re a Villa fan as their training ground Bodymoor Heath is right next to the reserve !
(To top it off, on the way back I saw a wild Aston Villa player driving to work too!)
Sam
Image credit: Emma Marsh