Local life & Little Histories

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Since the last entry Spring has marched on, the evenings are lighter, the rain has descended with the odd bout of thunder and lightening thrown in and time at the local reserve has become rarer.

Time outdoors has not decreased but rather increased however it is now mainly spent gaining experience as a Ranger at the nearby Country Park and also spent as a volunteer at a nearby but not local RSPB reserve and at events around the county and neighbouring counties. All of which opens up a whole new world and the knowledge of the Rangers I am working alongside at the country park and nearby reserves is staggering and a little daunting at times. I feel that a patrol or a leisurely walk around the sites will never be the same with eyes that can look around a little more discerningly at the habitats and signs of the past that the lay of the land can tell if you know what to look for. And I'm only at the tip of that iceberg of discernment which is an exciting place to be.

Today however I did manage to get back to my local patch where I feel on more familiar ground and can to some extent be the one with some small smattering of knowledge. Since the last entry the Swift have come back with their aerial antics joining the Swallows, Sand & House Martins (I spent a good half an hour on one of the paths a couple of evenings ago with forty or fifty Swifts swirling around my head, a perfect way to end a day), the Hobby have returned with their chases, banks and dives over the water, the Common Tern are back stopping to hover over the fields at times their elegant profile's gliding over the water and one morning a couple of weeks back even provided the plaintive minor third call of the Cuckoo from the woods.

Of course fluffy bundles have been abundant; ducklings and goslings and the trees are full of parents - beaks full of wholesome goodies for those securely held in nests. Today as I walked past one of the dead old trees I heard something calling and realised that it had to be a Woodpecker from inside, and indeed it was as I watched the parents making trip after trip bringing food to an ever demanding mouth as can be seen from the photographs from today (above and below) taken just after a thunder storm. A cracking close sight to spend a few moments watching and listening to.

On a slightly different note the birds are not the only ones that have been nest building. Last weekend saw the 25th anniversary of the RSPB reserve at Sandwell Valley and along with all the fun activities provided on the day was a 'giant bids nest' built by the volunteers including myself the previous Friday. The kids on the day helped to finish it off with those all importantly placed last twigs and then lined it with 'dry' grass ready for our brood of rather large eggs to hatch. The day even though it was sodden underfoot and bucketing from the heavens proved to be great fun with a good turn out to celebrate the centres 25th anniversary and we just couldn't get the children out of the nest. The 'dream team'  (as we like to call ourselves, myself and two other chaps from the larger volunteer force) manned the giant birds nest and at one point Jelly from CBBC came over to see what it was all about as can be seen below with Jelly being the good looking Green one just below me in the centre of the picture.

One of the really enjoyable aspects of the work I have been doing lately, apart from learning a lot and being a part of good teams both with the Ranger Service and the RSPB is how happy people seem to be to see a Ranger and how they relate to you. It has been great also working with school kids both young and in their teens with the Ranger Services seeing their enthusiasm and willingness to get involved with the natural world and through the RSPB with kids and parents on the reserve and areas such as the event last weekend.

It also nice when you find people are asking after you. Last week I was on a site working with a group of kids with a Roving Ranger who works across a number of sites and with a lot of schools, however this week on the same day I was working in another area and yet the group from the previous week asked where I was. It all good stuff.

Today I enjoyed the time down on the reserve being able to watch the wildlife for myself and catching up with friends I don't see as often now, tomorrow it's back to the RSPB reserve and then a two day Bat course, then back into the week day rangering and RSPB volunteering and then shortly stints at a couple of RSPB events; the Peregrine Project in Worcester and a Water for Life event.

Woodpecker Treat, Rangering, and RSPB Celebrations

Since the last entry Spring has marched on, the evenings are lighter, the rain has descended with the odd bout of thunder and lightening thrown in and time at the local reserve has become rarer.

Time outdoors has not decreased but rather increased however it is now mainly spent gaining experience as a Ranger at the nearby Country Park and also spent as a volunteer at a nearby but not local RSPB reserve and at events around the county and neighbouring counties. All of which opens up a whole new world and the knowledge of the Rangers I am working alongside at the country park and nearby reserves is staggering and a little daunting at times. I feel that a patrol or a leisurely walk around the sites will never be the same with eyes that can look around a little more discerningly at the habitats and signs of the past that the lay of the land can tell if you know what to look for. And I'm only at the tip of that iceberg of discernment which is an exciting place to be.

Today however I did manage to get back to my local patch where I feel on more familiar ground and can to some extent be the one with some small smattering of knowledge. Since the last entry the Swift have come back with their aerial antics joining the Swallows, Sand & House Martins (I spent a good half an hour on one of the paths a couple of evenings ago with forty or fifty Swifts swirling around my head, a perfect way to end a day), the Hobby have returned with their chases, banks and dives over the water, the Common Tern are back stopping to hover over the fields at times their elegant profile's gliding over the water and one morning a couple of weeks back even provided the plaintive minor third call of the Cuckoo from the woods.

Of course fluffy bundles have been abundant; ducklings and goslings and the trees are full of parents - beaks full of wholesome goodies for those securely held in nests. Today as I walked past one of the dead old trees I heard something calling and realised that it had to be a Woodpecker from inside, and indeed it was as I watched the parents making trip after trip bringing food to an ever demanding mouth as can be seen from the photographs from today (above and below) taken just after a thunder storm. A cracking close sight to spend a few moments watching and listening to.

On a slightly different note the birds are not the only ones that have been nest building. Last weekend saw the 25th anniversary of the RSPB reserve at Sandwell Valley and along with all the fun activities provided on the day was a 'giant bids nest' built by the volunteers including myself the previous Friday. The kids on the day helped to finish it off with those all importantly placed last twigs and then lined it with 'dry' grass ready for our brood of rather large eggs to hatch. The day even though it was sodden underfoot and bucketing from the heavens proved to be great fun with a good turn out to celebrate the centres 25th anniversary and we just couldn't get the children out of the nest. The 'dream team'  (as we like to call ourselves, myself and two other chaps from the larger volunteer force) manned the giant birds nest and at one point Jelly from CBBC came over to see what it was all about as can be seen below with Jelly being the good looking Green one just below me in the centre of the picture.

One of the really enjoyable aspects of the work I have been doing lately, apart from learning a lot and being a part of good teams both with the Ranger Service and the RSPB is how happy people seem to be to see a Ranger and how they relate to you. It has been great also working with school kids both young and in their teens with the Ranger Services seeing their enthusiasm and willingness to get involved with the natural world and through the RSPB with kids and parents on the reserve and areas such as the event last weekend.

It also nice when you find people are asking after you. Last week I was on a site working with a group of kids with a Roving Ranger who works across a number of sites and with a lot of schools, however this week on the same day I was working in another area and yet the group from the previous week asked where I was. It all good stuff.

Today I enjoyed the time down on the reserve being able to watch the wildlife for myself and catching up with friends I don't see as often now, tomorrow it's back to the RSPB reserve and then a two day Bat course, then back into the week day rangering and RSPB volunteering and then shortly stints at a couple of RSPB events; the Peregrine Project in Worcester and a Water for Life event.