Last Saturday proved to be a record breaker on all fronts! Every fortnight we have an entertaining and enlightening guided walk around our reserve. Using the vast birding knowledge that is Alf and ably assisted by Mike, both volunteers at Sandwell Valley, are on hand to offer identification help both visually and aurally,

There were 15 willing visitors, including children, on the latest walk, our biggest number so far…

Now the breeding bird season is upon us, we've had to hold back on some of the habitat management work carried out on the reserve. Nonetheless the work our volunteers have put in over the winter months is certainly paying dividends now.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been contacted by members of the public, either in person or via electronic means, saying how good the reserve was looking at the moment. They…

Today we held the first of what could become a regular event at Sandwell Valley. Our Birdwatching Basics event was fully booked and was attended by families and adults all eager to learn how to tell the difference between the many types of birds found on the reserve.

The talk was given by an experienced volunteer, Mike West, who entertained the audience with his slide show on what to look for when identifying birds. After…

Our volunteers carried out a controlled snipe flush in our marsh reedbed this afternoon.

49 Common Snipe and 5 Jack Snipe were observed during the course of the count.

A slight increase in numbers on the last count.

Today our volunteers visited the museum to put in place the nest boxes made by visitors and staff. In total they sited 6 blue tit boxes, 2 robin  boxes and 3 bat boxes. All in place just in time for the breeding season.

Fingers crossed the local birds take a fancy to the new houses and move in over the next few weeks. Visitors to the 13th c house will be able to watch the birds coming and going from these boxes.  

Built…

Considering the guided walk today was arranged less than 48 hours ago, it seems everyone got something out of it.

We welcomed 20 members of the Halesowen U3A ramblers group to our reserve in the Sandwell Valley this morning and they enjoyed a leisurely walk around our reserve in blustery but sunny conditions. Stopping off at the new viewing points around the reserve we saw a few of our resident birds as well as a couple…

There's less than 10 days to go before our next event here at Sandwell Valley. Sunday 13th March at 11am is when we kick off with Bird Watching Basics run by one of the most experienced birders here in the Valley, Mike West.

Reviving this very popular event has proved to be a winner. Obviously people remember how good Mike is at getting over the enjoyment of identifying birds of all shapes and sizes. The day will…

The spring half-term holiday is the perfect time to learn more about wildlife in this area. Over the last two days staff and volunteers from our reserve have attended events at Hamstead and Great Barr libraries.

On both days we were inundated by eager youngsters willing to get their hands mucky whilst making log feeders. Learning how to use the contents of a food cupboard to feed birds came as a surprise to some of…

Staff and volunteers contributed towards this countrywide event and over the course of the last two days were responsible for the completion of over 30 nestboxes!

Using pre-cut kits, prepared by our volunteers, visitors to our reserve on Sunday were able to make their own nestboxes in the comfort of our education room. Fast forward 24 hours and two of our hardy volunteers braved the chilling drizzle to help visitors…

We had the first of our regular fortnightly guided walks last Saturday and what a great way to spend a couple of hours. The weather played it's part in that it was warm and sunny whilst we were on the reserve.

Starting from the SPA building at 11.00 am we set off accompanied by a couple of eagle eyed volunteers who offered help with our bird identification.  It wasn't long before we were deep inside the reserve and…

Today we carried out a controlled Snipe count through the marsh reeds. A team of 8 enthusiasts split in to flushers and spotters. The flushers carefully made their way through the reedbed at the rear of the marsh pool, flushing the birds as they went. Spaced out around the area were the spotters who were tasked with identifying and counting whatever took flight from the advancing flushers. The results were 30 Common Snipe…

According to our volunteers who know about these things, the number of goosander on Forge Mill Lake are the highest  in living memory. Over the course of yesterday the number rose steadily from 60 to 80 and eventually hit agreed total of 90. A spectacular sight to see but spare a thought for the poor fish living in the lake.

On a reserve like Sandwell Valley it's easy to condemn every teenager or 'hoodie' as a potential source of vandalism, bad manners and just downright troublemakers. The current crew from the Prince's Trust project working in collaboration with West Midlands Police, have once again proved they are not all to be tarred with the same brush. The eight youngsters helping us on site this week have already endured…

Last week we hosted the first of 5 booked corporate days arranged by HSBC as part of their Earthwatch programme. There were 17 willing participants on a particularly cold and grey day. Lee gave them a briefing about why they were on site and what we hoped to achieve during the day. The uninteresting bit over we headed to the Tardis to be kitted out with PPE (wellies & gloves). We were able to split the group into 3 for…

Put together a combination of cold but sunny weather and a number of eager birdwatchers and you have the makings of a very enjoyable couple of hours. Once the decision was made to keep our hide closed on Saturday, there was no shortage of people accepting my invitation to have a walk around the reserve. Starting off from the SPA building we gently strolled around the whole of the lake making careful note of what birds were…

Yesterday was our first official day back after the winter break and it was certainly a case of 'as you were'. The last time the reserve and hide were fully open was Wednesday 15th December, since then we've had sub-zero temperatues and the occasional snow flurry. This added up to large amounts of inhospitable conditions for birdwatching and even walking around the reserve was hazardous at times due to the ice. …

This seasonal weather has hung around for quite awhile now and whilst looking delightful on Christmas cards and decorations, the effects have been highly disruptive. The Lakeside Hide was closed again over the weekend due to the cold temperatures and no matter how many 'layers' you are wearing, you're going to feel the cold!! The hide will remain closed until such time as we feel our volunteers can stand the ambient temperature…

This was our last event of the year and to be honest it had been in doubt until Saturday. During the previous two weeks the paths around the reserve had been too icy to even contemplate an event such as this but a gradual thaw meant we had the green light to GO!

What an occasion this was - the weather was typical of this time of the year, blue sky, cool temperature but terrific visibility. We gathered in the SPA to be…

Yesterday Lee and I walked around the reserve to see how it's coping in this cold weather. Our Lakeside Hide and classroom have been closed for almost a week because of the cold. We believe sitting in the cold for a couple of hours a day is above and beyond the call of duty for our volunteer hide guides! Besides, there is little birdlife of note due to the lake being heavily frozen!

There is the hope of a slight…