Day Out at Belvide (Private Membership)

The other morning i headed out to Belvide this is a private, members only nature reserve. I have been a member here now for approximately 3 years, it is my local peace haven, where i go and relax, i feel safe here too.

There are numerous bird hides scattered around for different views around the reserve, some have disabled access too. In the secure car park there is a toilet, As i walked through the woodland, listening to all the different bird songs, Chiff Chaffs, black caps, woodpeckers drumming, buzzards squawking and geese. As you head out of the woodland you can hear the warblers in the reeds, as you follow the concrete path around the reserve, on sunny days there are lots of damselflies, dragonflies and butterflies, there is so much to photograph.

All the birders and photographers are very friendly.

If you are interested in joining head over to West Midlands Bird Club for more information, you wont be disappointed.

Woodland Hides

I headed up to the woodland hide, these are my favourite, you can see so much from here. The view is stunning, as you can see this morning it was very cloudy and a little bit chilly. The pheasants and ducks were waiting for the birds to flock in and drop seeds for their breakfast.

The birds seemed quiet, the blue tits, dunnocks, goldfinches visited. Today i watched the Male Great Spotted Woodpecker make around 10 visits in an hour.

Distinguishing between the two sexes of greater spotted woodpecker is straightforward since the male has a red patch on the back of his head whereas the female's head is simply black and white. Both male and female great spotted woodpeckers have a bright red underside at the base of the tail.

Woodland Hide

I headed back along the concrete path, to the other woodland hide, and wow there the Great Spotted Woodpecker was again, calling and visiting. I put some nuts out for it within a few minutes he came back, played a little bit of peek a boo and eventually climbing up to get the nuts. I think he enjoyed the photo shoot.. he didn’t seem to be scared… i did use my silent shooting so not to disturb him. Then oh my goodness the female also made an appearance and came so close, my lens i was using the 200-600mm and it was too close, she sat on the tree stump which in all the times i have been here, the woodpeckers have not been seen on there.

Hope you have enjoyed this visit with me, over the next coming weeks i am hoping to do a short video, of my wildlife & Nature trails. Hope to see you all soon.

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