News archive

Sunday, 1 March 2009

A year of being a Volunteer

What a year it has been and the experiences we have had. In November of last year it started with the starlings' murmuration down at Brighton. What a sight with 5,000 birds circling, rising and falling, truly magnificent. It was not only us watching the starlings but the peregrine falcon was very evident.
In the spring of this year, we were at Bewl Reservoir to see the great crested grebes. We had a cruise round the reservoir when we saw over 70 of the birds. Regrettably the public were not as fortunate but they did see some.

Then we were nearer at home at the Tonbridge Garden Show and selling the RSPB to the general public - always interesting. A bonus there was that we actually signed up a new member!

The summer saw us down at Seaford watching 600 pairs of kittiwakes on the cliffs. Even when the weather was un-summer-like, the birds were there for us. We were situated where the promenade ends and the cliffs begin. Whilst there, a reporter turned up from local radio and asked if he could interview us about the event. The RSPB person gave an in depth interview about Aren't Birds Brilliant and then he wanted an ordinary person to say why they were there - and that was me. When we set out in the morning, we never dreamt of being on local radio.

On our second visit to the site, the sea was very rough and it was coming over the wall during high tide. We were fearful of being knocked down by the sea but fortunately it missed us. During the high tide, two fishermen arrived to fish off the jetty and their bait was in a cool box. They took a fish out and cut it in half and put a hook on it and started to fish. The other half was left by the cool box. A herring gull then appeared, and took the remaining fish and we all cheered. How did it know the fish was there?

At the end of the summer, we were at Leeds Castle where the Aren't Birds Brilliant campaign spotlighted the mute swan. As well as mute swans, there were black swans, Canada Geese, and many ducks, all around the tent. Telescopes were set up and the public were able to see a grey heron perched in a tree which was not visible from where we were standing. Also over 30 different species were listed. The birds are fed twice a day and one reason why the birds were all round us at one point was that they were waiting for the food to arrive. When it arrived, the birds came from all round, including two pairs of whooper swans. There was a large flock of Canada Geese on the opposite bank and when they saw the food, they all went into the water and swam over to our side. Over the days that the RSPB was there, 71 new members were signed up.

Then the RSPB was invited to attend the Ploughing Match in Marden and to see the shire horses which, in addition to promoting the charity made for a very enjoyable day. It was a very relaxing day, in lovely weather and with no litter to be seen. The last stint of volunteering will be at Leeds Castle again for Feeding Garden Birds and we are sure that will be as exciting as the previous events.

If you would like to know more about volunteering use the link below to the RSPB's website or contact the local group.