Rodley Nature Reserve are inviting you to help them count birds this weekend, writes Keely Bannister.
Join us this weekend for @Natures_Voice #BigGardenBirdWatch! #leeds #birds #nature #wildlife #getoutside #yorkshire #rodley #children #weekend https://t.co/SQIxFNCGl1 pic.twitter.com/ydyMgZG479
— Rodley Nature Reserve (@RodleyNR) January 22, 2020
As part of the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch event, the popular Moss Bridge Road site is asking for members of the public to join them in The Mangers and Bee Gardens to help build a snapshot of wildlife numbers across the UK.
People are requested to give one hour of their time between 11am and 3pm on either Saturday 25th or Sunday 26th for the easy and free survey.
Open to all ages, no experience is necessary and all materials needed to take part will be provided, although if you have binoculars at home it would be helpful if you could bring them.
There will also be an opportunity for people to make their own birdseed cake in the visitors centre which they can take home.
This is the second year that the Rodley Nature Reserve has taken part in the birdwatch.
Running for over 40 years, the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is an important tool in helping the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds create a “snapshot” of bird numbers across the country, monitor trends and spot problems.
Created in 1999 on the site of a former sewage works, Rodley Nature Reserve has become a firm favourite for bird spotters and wildlife enthusiasts.
30 instances of bird sightings have been recorded so far this year, including a Nuthatch in the Managers Garden, a Little Owl in the same area and – a winter visitor to the Uk – the Pink-footed Goose.
The nature reserve is well signed from the A6120 Leeds Outer Ring Road and then from the A657 Rodley Town Street (follow the brown direction signs) with limited free on-site car parking available. The venue is serviced by the 35 and 60 bus routes which both stop near the site on Rodley Town Street. Cyclists will find the reserve on the National Cycle Route 66 via the Leeds to Bingley Aire Valley Towpath Route with ample racks to secure cycles outside the visitor centre.
Can’t make it down to Rodley this weekend but interested in birdwatching? Read the first column from our new contributor Linda Jenkinson to help inspire you to start “birding” at home!
