Carbon Feathery Therapy Upton Warren, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve

 

April 27th 2025          Carbon Birding day

So, with leg still causing problems and therefore the Biking Birder VII adventure put on a hopefully temporary hold and with the need of some feathery therapy after yesterday's Aston Villa loss to Crystal Pace in the FA Cup semi-final, it was off in my little Nissan Note to my old patch, Upton Warren WWT nature reserve.

My patch of old, I used to come almost every day during the years 2003 to 2009, cycling from my Volkswagen LT35 campervan, situated on a farm, Stoney Lane, near to Alvechurch. I would head off to wards the nearby Birmingham to Worcester canal and scoot down the towpath. The section from the Tardebigge Tunnel, with its 30 (!) downward locks was always a delight. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardebigge_Locks

The longest flight of locks in the UK; I didn't know that at the time. Coming back that way wasn't quite so enjoyable but always doable. Of course back then it was just me and the bike, maybe with camera and binoculars around my neck. No panniers, tent, sleeping bag. No cuddly toys!

Today though, I arrived at the sailing pool car park, after a singalong in the car to That, That is by Yes.

"Look upon this life as just a picture you're a painting; there is a reason for this being."

There are so many quotes from this piece of music that motivate me.

A tale of a child murdered ends with a call for action.

Love a good sing along with loud music; the car provides so many good drum parts - steering wheel of course but also the door to the side and the ceiling! LOL.

So restricted over time and place at Upton Warren these days compared to the freedom to explore back in the old days. Now one cannot enter the Education reserve between the two sections of the reserve; The Moors and The Flashes. Neither can one access the back of the sailing pool via the public footpath. I used to have a planned route to explore all of the reserve. Moors first with north reedbed circumnavigated before the East hide. Then to the West hide and along the river Salwarpe to the main A38.

 To the back of the sailing pool via the public footpath already mentioned, I used to then walk to the Flashes walking along fields instead of entering the area via the main road the sailing club car park.

All Flashes hides visited and birds listed, a quick look in the small Hen Pool hide, the quietest hide and therefore a great place for some piece and quiet and a sandwich.

Then back to The Moors in order to retrieve the hidden bike and across fields to get back to the canal for the long ride home. Perfect.

Today though it was through the car park, past the sailing pool cafe, around the pool to the Flashes entrance and along the broadwalk to the hides.

A chat with a lovely young at heart couple, Pat & Ian, led to the usual four questions . . .

Pat

                    Favourite piece of music?

Queen - We are The Champions

         Favourite children's book when a child? 

Enid Blyton - Islands of Adventure

     Biggest passion in life?

Good on ya, Pat!

and last of all . . . 

Favourite film?

Pat didn't have one but she said she loved ...

Endeavour 

Ian, the quieter one of the two, answered . . .

Favourite piece of music?

Bridge over Troubled Waters - Simon and Garfunkel

 Favourite children's book when a child?

The Rupert Bear annuals

 Biggest passion in life?

Favourite film?

Always a pleasure to hear people's choices, we were interrupted when a great friend, Tim Owens went past. Unfortunately Tim was just leaving having been at The Flashes all morning. 

A bit of a catch up, with news of his daughter, Mary and some photos that showed off her luminous green hair and piercings. I remembered Mary when she first used to come birdwatching at Upton Warren as a very young girl on her Dad's back in a rucksack, many years ago. Mary adored birdwatching back then and she and Tim were regularly seen.

I remembered giving her one of the original Sid the Frog's - see the Biking Birder blog post about the reasons why I carry cuddly toys on my bike - Cuddly Toy Post part one - and she gave me Mani the Mammoth from Ice Age! Mani came with me on my Biking Birder II adventure as Mary had given it to me when I started that incredible year at Upton Warren.

(hint - take a look at the Toys4Life website and see how you can help)

Fabulous to see Tim, conversation with Pat & Ian completed, it was time to enter The Flashes reserve and list the birds.

So beautiful to walk along the broadwalk with birds singing and so many shades of green; I stopped at the bridge to do a short Merlin - bird song video and look at a number of male Three-spined Sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus

At this time of year the males have bright red tummies and spend their time looking after their nests full of eggs, chasing the other nearby males and chasing after any female that comes nearby. fascinating to see a couple of the males shivering their tails to provide a current of water going over the eggs. I wonder how many people stand and stare at this amazing spectacle?

Back in the 1980s, when i was a teacher at Coppice High School in Wolverhampton, I had a couple of aquariums in my classroom so that the students could see such behaviour. Always interesting to see how the males would display their tummies by swimming vertically when the red Royal Mail post van parked by the classroom!

This rather old YouTube video shows the male's behaviour nicely.

The audio available on my eBird checklist for the visit, has Cetti's and Reed Warbler on it and Chiff Chaff.

To the last hide, I have new company, Stewart and old stalwart of the reserve.

Into the hide and for three hours we watch and count, chat and list.

No camera of course, that is with my bike down in Gosport awaiting my leg getting better. Instead I count the birds and am pleased to find that I have exactly 50 bird species by the end of my time here.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S230313961

Ebird says there are too many Avocets! I have counted 42, the answer to the Ultimate Question!

I have to justify the total. I wonder why? I always think this whenever eBird suggests that my count is too high for this location. 

Oh well, fifty species and the most thrilling to me is the Swift, actually five of them flying high over the east cornfield. My favourite bird, I am reincarnating as a Swift.

More people come into the hide, more opportunities for the four questions . . . 

Cathy from Oxford, works for Imperial College, London and organises The Great Exhibition Road Festival coming up in June.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival - June 2025

Looks incredible!

Favourite piece of music?

The Raven by Omnia

 Favourite children's book when a child? 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Biggest passion in life?

Wildlife 

Favourite film?

Rocky Horror Show

Her friend Sarah, from Shropshire working as an environmentalist, gave the following answers . . . 

Favourite piece of music?

Pachelbel Canon 

Favourite children's book when a child? 

Biggest passion in life?

 Nature

Favourite film?

French Lieutenant's Woman

OK. advert break . .  .

Please take a look at The Children's Book Project website and see if you can help this wonderful charity.

Right, back to Upton Warren.

What has happened to the Black-headed Gulls that used to be here in their hundreds?

Bird Flu?

I stop for a while at the Hen Pool hide in order to listen to the newly arrived Reed Warblers and the resident and louder Cetti's.

Back to the car and home to see my brother, Paul and my amazing niece, Maya.

fabulous Feather therapy takes one's mind off football disappointments.

Tickle My Feathers

BIKING BIRDER VII No Particular date! The Biking Birder Cuddly Toys and Toys4Life

 

Making a Difference, One Toy at a Time

https://www.toys4life.co.uk/

BIKING BIRDER VII            Cuddlies!

                                                                                      Biking Birder VII

The Laurie Lee Adventure

Back in 1934, a young man named Laurie Lee walked away from

 his home in the village of Slad, Gloucestershire, UK.

Detailed in the autobiographical book, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, tells the story of a young man, nineteen years old, seeking adventure.

From his home, Laurie walked first Southampton in order to see the sea; something Laurie had never seen.

Disappointed with his first view as the sea at Southampton was muddy, Laurie found that he could make a living by busking with his violin. Therefore he continued along the south of England coast to Bognor Regis, Littlehampton and Worthing before heading north to London.

From London, after a year working as a labourer on building sites, Laurie took a ship to Vigo in Northern Spain and from there walked, eventually to a beach east of Malaga.

My aim is to cycle his route with the occasional detour to visit nature reserves, particularly RSPB and W&WT ones and sites of interest, such as Stonehenge.

Hence Biking Birder VII begins . . . 

The History of The Cuddly Toys

Part One Biking Birder I - 2010

Back in 2010, when on my first Biking Birder adventure, I wanted a way to show the charities I was supporting and a way to be more visible.

What better way than to have a few CUDDLY TOYS on the bike?

Sid the Frog on the front of the bike

Day One - January 1st 2010

Sandwell Valley RSPB Reserve

Back in 2010 I gathered together some cuddly toys for the coming adventure; Sid the Frog, Albert the Albatross and Barnaby the Bear.

Sid the frog would be the focus of my fundraising efforts for The Wildfowl & Wetland Trust; my way of saying thank you to Sir Peter Scott.

Albert the Albatross represented the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The RSPB.

Now Barnaby the Bear is an interesting addition. Not a charity, The Geography Association is dedicated to geographical education.

In Primary education, there is a topic to make geography education more personable for all children; 'Where in the World is Barnaby Bear?'

In 2010 Barnaby Bear was with me and boy, did he enjoy all of the special places that we both visited together.

Can you name the ten places above?

OK, advert break. Toys4Life, please if you have any cuddly toys around that you can give to this amazing initiative then PLEASE take a look at the website and find out how you can do so.

https://www.toys4life.co.uk/

2010, Biking Birder I, a tour of all RSPB nature reserves and W&WT Visitor's Centres. The start of a fifteen year adventure with more Biking Birder adventures and many carbon adventures to countries such as Morocco, Gambia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Chile, France, Switzerland, Spain, a tour of Europe and of course, my beloved Peru!

How cuddly toys came to dominate my bike in the coming years, well, that is a post for another day.

Tickle My Feathers