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| Sandwell
Valley at sunset |
The
RSPB’s nature reserve at Sandwell is an oasis of nature in
the middle of some of the poorest parts of the Black Country.
It’s
an important site for birds and other wildlife, so close to the
concrete canyons of Birmingham, but even on a cold spring day it
offers the people of Sandwell quick access to beautiful open countryside,
an Urban Oasis.
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| David
Gregory |
All
this year our Environment Correspondent David Gregory is following
the what happens at the Sandwell Reserve and watching the work of
the RSPB as they look after the wildlife and also reach out those
who live Sandwell itself.
Where's
my coffee?
“I
pitched up at the Sandwell Valley Reserve on a very cold and bright
Sunday morning to help with a bird count, in this case helping to
count Snipe.
I hoped
that this might entail sitting in a nice warm hide with a hot flask
of coffee. Or even better sitting in the even warmer visitors centre
with a hot meal. Sadly however counting Snipe means getting a little
bit more “up close and personal” to the birds.
Counting
Snipe
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| A
Snipe in marshland |
Snipe
are smallish, brown wading birds. They hand around in the marshy
parts of the reserve and are hard to spot as they lurk in the cover
of the reeds. Which means that when the experts here want to count
them you have to take the kind of action that will usually get you
barred from a place like Sandwell.
As
Lee Copplestone explained to me, counting Snipe involves getting
right down into the reserve itself, forming a line of volunteers
and walking across the marsh while making noises. The idea is to
actually get the birds to fly off, because its only when they soar
off into the air they are easy to count! It's something the RSPB
wouldn't do under any other cirumstances, and the people doing it
are experts and its all done under very controlled conditions.
Scared
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| A
Snipe |
It's
cold, difficult work and slightly alarming since Snipe often won’t
take flight until you are right on top of them. The only one I managed
to count scared the living daylights out of me! It was all over
in just a few minutes, and my final total was a bit less than everyone
elses.
In
fact I only counted one, but the other RSPB volunteers with their
expert eyes saw 28 Snipe and even 3 of the less common Jack Snipe.
Fortunately for the birds this will be the last count for now and
they can get back to doing whatever it is Snipe do.
And
I finally got to go and have a nice hot cup of coffee."
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