I had the pleasure of hosting a walk for retired teachers around the reserve today. This was the longest time I've ever been in the presence of teachers without being told to either stand in the corner or write of 2 sheets of lines!

The weather held fair for us as we made our way around the Wetlands trail. I think the wind made bird watching difficult but that didn't stop our enjoyment. Part way round the trail I…

BIRDS:
Barn Owl (seen early mornings and late evenings), Black-tailed Godwit (2nd, 30th), Black Tern (24th), Bullfinch (occasionally seen in Woodland Trail), Buzzard (regular sightings), Canada Goose (with 21 young seen – possible creche), Caspian Gull (13th, 17th, 21st), Cetti’s Warbler (occasionally heard), Common Gull (5th, 9th), Common Tern (regular sightings, seen trying to nest or feeding along the river), Coot …

Image: David McHugh (rspb-images.com) 

Children need nature.  Nature needs children.

I meant to get this post written several days ago, but better late than never!  It’s quite long, but this is at the heart of what RSPB Middleton Lakes is about.

Last Friday, some of the UK’s biggest environmental education organisations - the RSPB, the Field Studies Council and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust - joined forces…

We've now set up our regular summer guided walk programme and there's no better way to enjoy what The Lakes has to offer.

Our Walk Leaders are all very experienced and very knowledgeable about what you're likely to see on site. They're on site regularly, talking to visitors, looking at our survey work and then they use this information to keep everyone up to date.

The WWW (Wednesday Wildlife Wander) kicks…

BIRDS:

Arctic Tern (14th, 15th), Avocet (5th , 6th, 29th), Black Tern (2nd, 7th), Black-headed Gull (resident), Black-tailed Godwit (regular sightings), Bullfinch (resident), Buzzard (regular sightings), Canada Goose (resident), Cetti’s Warbler (resident), Common Gull (10th), Common Sandpiper (2nd to 7th), Common Tern (regular sightings), Coot (with young), Cormorant (occasional sightings), Cuckoo (heard daily), Curlew…

Our opening week of activities is now over and what a week it's been!

All that's left to do is to tidy up, put everything back in to the right boxes and take stock of what's left.

A big thank you to all the visitors we met and especially for their words of support and encouragement.

I shall be mentioning our own volunteers elsewhere but without their help..................

Our opening events with special guests Bill Oddie and Jelly from CBeebies were a smashing success! The sun was shining on Middleton Lakes and all of its visitors today.

It was so lovely to see families enjoying picnics in the Playmeadow, children hanging from our Tangly Tree, and young and old alike weaving their way through the tall grasses. I even saw a family flying a kite this afternoon!

A whole gang of our fabulous…

What a day!

Wonderful weather, great visitors and to top it all, star appearances by our special guests, Bill Oddie and the CBeebies favourite, Jelly.

What a great day we all had!

Bill, who is no stranger to RSPB reserves, was making his first visit to Middleton Lakes, was very complimentary, commenting on how far the reserve had come since we started. Bill then took part in a Nature Hunt with over 80 visitors spilt…

Last night we hosted the latest of our NIght Time Strolls and in the words of the Frankie Valli song, 'Oh what a night!'

Meeting after the sun had gone down we were greeted by a barn owl flying across the playmeadow, always a magnificent sight.

We found newts in the heronry lagoon by using a powerful torch and were then given our bat detectors as we set off along the bridleway towards the woodland trail. Our detectors…

As part of our opening week celebrations we are delighted that renowned nature lover Bill Oddie will be coming to visit our new reserve next Friday afternoon the 3rd June. Bill will be on hand to chat to visitors and will be leading a nature hunt.

We've also got another treat for children of all ages - star of the CBeebies Green Ballon Club, Jelly, will also be making an appearance on the same day.

This should be…

Fifteen students from Moor Hall Primary School got the opportunity to join us for a lovely (if not a bit wet!) walk around the reserve on Monday. The students are members of Moor Hall's Bird Club and working towards their Bronze Wildlife Action Award. I got the chance to show them around and introduce them to a few birds they hadn't yet met!

The children learned how to use binoculars and got plenty of practice while…

There will be an information tent where you can book for the various events.

We will have many hands-on activities taking place all week including nest box building, dragonfly making, face painting, mask masking, welly wanging, bog walking.........

Playmeadow activities start at 10am each day Sunday 28th May to Sunday 5th June

Saturday 28th May

10am Wetland Trail guided walk;    10.30am Family Funtime guided walk;    2pm…

The Birdwatchers Spring Fair over the weekend was, as the saying goes, a game of two halves. Saturday was very busy with lots of visitors clamouring amongst the exhibits and more importantly from my point of view, taking advantage of our guided walks.

From my posting in our new car park, I was able to talk to the visitors as they came and went to and from the reserve. The amount of good comments were very encouraging…

Preparations have been taking place for weeks leading up to today. Except for missing one or two signs (which arrived this morning!), the reserve was looking splendid. Visitors from far and wide converged on the ballroom of Middleton Hall to be welcomed by the resident RSPB staff.

Coffee, biscuits, a quick chat and we were summoned in to the Great Hall where we listened to speeches given by a collection of dignatories…

Well, our first fully open weekend is over and I've managed to extricate myself from the car park. There was a steady flow of visitors on both days but nothing we couldn't cope with fortunately. The appearance on the Saturday editions of BBC's Midlands Today news certainly brought a number of visitors but we also received visitors who already knew about the reserve and were keen to be one of the first to officially…

Friday 13th proved to be very lucky for the Middleton Lakes volunteers. Despite a freshening shower during the course of the evening, nothing was going to dampen the collective spirit of all those who had made the opening of the latest RSPB reserve possible.

Filled with bon homie and a tasty pork bap, all our volunteers were asked to perform the ribbon cutting all at once! I believe all fingers were present and correct…

Just when we thought it was safe to think about lifting our heads above the parapet, the Birdwatchers Spring Fair event rolls in to town.

This annual event, at Middleton Hall, is a mecca for everything birdy. From binoculars to scopes, from country clothing to wildlife photography. If you've got an interest in wildlife in general and birds in particular then this is the place to be.

Running over the weekend of Saturday…

The waiting is almost over and the finishing touches are being applied to the reserve. I've already mentioned the fact the finger-post directional signs are now in place and the modular board is now complete. The trail guides are printed, the car park is empty and ready and we've even put in place a couple of Port-a-loos! A dangerous thing to do considering what happened the last time I was involved with such amenities…

There are many good things about living so close to the reserve, one of which is the fact that when friends come over to visit we have a ready made visitor attraction to go to.

Today, the last Bank Holiday of the current spate, we invited a few friends over for a walk around the reserve and then back to mine for a barbeque. Weather conditions were ideal for walking but not entirely welcoming for bird flight. Arriving…

The pre-opening walk around the reserve on Easter Monday followed a similar pattern to that of the previous Friday. We had no idea of how many people wished to attend but we were delighted to welcome almost 30 people in the bright sunshine.

We would normally restrict walk numbers to around 20 but everyone was so enthusiastic and did have two assistants in Alison & Rebecca who offered help and advice to the walkers.…

This was the first of our two Easter pre-opening strolls around the reserve, organised relatively late on and up to 5pm on Thursday evening we had 5 people booked to come. Fast forward a few hours and by the time our Walk Leader Mick Smith set off in blazing sunshine, our numbers had swelled to over 20!

What a treat was in store for everyone, prior to starting the walk we witnessed what must surely be some of the laziest…

According to local sources we don't entertain too many of these beautifully marked ducks throughout the year. So imagine our delight when a pair of them were seen familiarising themselves with our northern shores. Will they remain? Only time will tell but they are worth the effort of travelling here to take a look.

Elsewhere on site we heard our first cuckoo of the year - truly a marvellous sensory experience!

The wait is almost over and mid-May sees the opening of the Reserve. As I settle in to my new role of Visitor & Promotion Officer, I can see the signs of completion coming in to view. Talking of signs, all our new and inovative signage will be put in place shortly, adding a smart new appearance to our reserve.

We're in the process of finalising a week long programme of events starting on Saturday 28th May, which…

Hi and welcome to everyone who's been looking at this blog page and wondering what the 'eck it's all about.  I have recently been seconded to Middleton Lakes from the Sandwell Valley reserve and one of my roles is to let people know what's going on around these parts.

I've been here 3 days and already I've had two Land Rover safari rides taking a look at the differring habitats and getting a Warden…