The race is on, the bird race that is!

On Saturday May 3rd, RSPB Middleton Lakes is pitting itself against some of the top Midlands reserves in a bird race!

For those of you who may not have heard of a bird race, the purpose is to see or hear as many birds as possible on the reserve in a 24 hour period and we end up with a total species list at the end of the day.

Early May is the best time to complete a bird race as there is likely to be late winter birds hanging on, such as Wigeon and Goosander, the summer birds will be here in good numbers, like the warblers and there is also a good chance of passage birds like Arctic tern or Whimbrel.

We need your help to find the rare passage birds, the common species that might get overlooked and everything in between to build up an exciting total and try to come out on top!

We will see Great tits like this on the day, but will you find the more difficult to see Goldcrest or Lesser spotted woodpecker?

We will have the POD open on the day to compile the numbers so why not come down and help us count, you don't need to be an expert or have the best equipment but we need as many eyes on the ground to count those birds!