If you've ever visited on the first Saturday of the month you will no doubt have noticed the rather large groups of children present on the reserve - it's our Wildlife Explorer Day!
Every month, 3 groups of keen youngsters and our volunteer leaders meet up to learn about wildlife, have some fun and, in the case of our teenage RSPB Phoenix group, get on with some real conservation work too...
This year our RSPB Phoenix Group is working towards a John Muir 'Discovery' Award in the South Downs National Park - the first level of a national award scheme designed to get people out and about discovering, exploring and conserving wild places. Over the course of the year we'll be getting to grip with geological maps, soil sampling and habitat types, sowing wildflower meadows and undertaking bird surveys. We'll also be helping out on the 'Heathlands Reunited' project - a fantastic project which involves a number of conservation organisations (including the RSPB) and being led by the South Downs National Park Authority.
October's meeting saw us helping to establish a wildflower meadow in one of the central fields on the nature reserve. We're working to establish Winpenny field as a wildflower meadow - the long grasses provide a great hiding place for small mammals such as field voles (and then food for owls and kestrels!) and the flowers are a source of nectar and pollen for brilliant bees and butterflies. It's not just as simple as leaving the field alone and keeping your fingers crossed - wildflower meadows need a helping hand. Over the past couple of years we have sown yellow rattle seeds in this field - this fantastic plant is parasitic on the surrounding grasses, weakening them and allowing the more delicate wildflowers a chance to get going. This autumn we've sown a wildflower mix which includes some great plants for pollinators.
To try and ensure we distributed the seed evenly across the field, we measured our field and then ensured we were evenly spaced out to scatter our seed.
All very scientifically done...although with the final 'dregs' of our seed mix we did go a little more 'free-style'!
Sowing complete we moved onto task number two - setting up a harvest mouse feeding station.
Last autumn, the group conducted a harvest mouse nest survey - searching for the beautiful woven nests of these delightful little mice. This was the first time we've surveyed for harvest mice on the reserve and after a couple of hours searching amongst the tussocks of grass and rush and in the hedgerows we found one nest. That may not sound like much of a result but it meant that we could confirm that harvest mice live here at Pulborough Brooks. Since then, our wardens and volunteer work party have found half a dozen more in various areas of the reserve.
To keep these acrobatic little mice occupied over the winter we've set up our feeding station in the field near West Mead hide :
Tennis balls, complete with 10 pence piece size holes are attached to bamboo poles - the harvest mice are agile enough to climb these and small enough to get inside where they will find some tasty treats.
Harvest mice are largely nocturnal so we're unlikely to see them performing acrobatic stunts during the daytime, but we'll be monitoring whether the food gets eaten.
Here's our team looking very pleased with their morning's work:
If anyone knows any youngsters who may want to get involved with our groups then feel free to get in touch - occasionally we have waiting lists to join the groups as they're very popular!