Earlswood Wildlife Partnership

Earlswood Wildlife Partnership

It has been a while since our last newsletter so there is a lot to catch up on and some new dates for your diaries.

Bird Ringing Event 28th January

The year started early in 2017 with a Bird Ringing event at the Log Cabin site. Luckily the weather was dry and all those that attended were fascinated to watch how Redditch Ringing Group confidently handled and ringed the birds and described the measurements they took and how the information was used. In total 59 birds were trapped, 33 had not been trapped before and were ringed on the day these included blackbird, blue tit, coal tit, great spotted woodpecker, long tailed tit and robin, the others had previously been caught and ringed so were recorded and released. We would like to thank Redditch Ringing Group for a great morning, Julie and Chris for the use of the Log Cabin facilities and Barbara for keeping us all warm with lots of tea and coffee!

Birding for Beginners 22nd April and 20th May

As in previous years this event was a great success, in fact so many people applied we decided to run a second course on 20th May. Both courses were well attended and 31 and 34 species of birds respectively were seen on the days including treecreeper, goldcrest and common sandpiper. We had great feedback on the courses including this from one attendee “I've learned some amazing facts about our local birds, and look forward to putting these new skills into practice, observing birds myself, and with my family.”

Earlswood “Springwatch” May 13th

This event was again a glorious success, the weather was kind to us and everyone had a fun day at the Log Cabin site with over 430 people attending. We had a falconry display, bird ringing, face painting, bird feeder making, seed planting, card making and guided walks (special thanks to Doreen for stepping into the breach and helping on the children’s walks), and new this year ‘Wildside Encounters’. There were also stalls and displays by Canal & River Trust, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, Warwickshire Badger Group, West Midlands Bird Club, Solihull Conservation Volunteers, Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team and Solihull RSPB.

Thanks must again go to Julie and Chris for hosting the event at the Log Cabin (and providing the bacon sandwiches) and to everyone from all the above organisations, our own members and other volunteers for their efforts, time and talents on the day and at the planning stage – the event would not happen without you. Above all special thanks to Barbara Philp without whom ‘Springwatch’ would never happen!

Bat Walk 14th April

Our first Bat Walk of the year took place in cool and “moist” conditions but there were enough bats showing well to make it an interesting evening.

All Day Birdwatch – Earlswood

This year's Springall-day birdwatch atEarlswood took place on May 6th, and a total of65 species were recorded at the lakes, woods and surrounding land. Amongst the birds noted duringthe daywereRed Kite, Cuckoo, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Common Sandpipers, Reed Warbler & Raven. Many thanks to the 10 other birders who contributed sightings. An autumn all-day birdwatch is planned for September 2nd. – Thanks Matt.

Dates for your Dairy

Dragonfly Survey – Sat 12th August – Meet 10am at Malthouse Lane car park

Bat Walk – Mon 21st August – Meet 8 pm at Engine House car park

(Walk should end about 9:30 pm and it’s holiday time so bring the kids along!)

Bat Survey – Sat 2nd Sept – Meet 10 am at Malthouse Lane car park

Bob Roberts