2026 Local Group Updates
Here you can stay up to date with the latest activities of the RSPB Worcester & Malvern Local Group, winner of the RSPB President’s Award for Best Urban Action for Nature 2024! To view our 2025 Local Group Updates, please click here.
September 2026
Wednesday 9th September – Bevere Sand Martin Box Cleaning
On Wednesday, a group of our volunteers gathered to clean out the Bevere Lock Island Sand Martin hotel. The boxes were emptied of old nests and thoroughly steam cleaned to remove parasites. This satisfying task was followed by well-earned coffee and cakes. Thanks to everyone who came along to help!
Sunday 6th September – 2027 Calendar now for sale!
Our 2027 Local Group Calendar (the product of our Calendar Competition) is now on sale! The calendar features a beautiful range of photographs submitted by group members. This year’s calendar theme is UK and European Wildlife. Our calendar is £8.50 for members and £10 for non-members.
Saturday 5th September – Diglis Sand Martin Box Cleaning
Simon, Frances, Mike and Catherine gathered to clean out the Diglis Lock Island Sand Martin nesting boxes. The group cleaned out the boxes by hand, drill powered brushes, steam cleaner and a hose before leaving the boxes to dry out in the sun.
Tuesday 1st September – A New Roof for the Holt Sand Martin Nesting Box?
On Tuesday, Mike, Roger and Simon installed a temporary false roof on the Holt Sand Martin nesting box, with the aim of reducing the temperature inside the box. Simon said of the roof:
“A new, improved false roof has been installed on the left hand Sand Martin box at Holt. There is a bigger gap, louvres, and silver paint in an attempt to reduce the temperature in the nest boxes.
The Martins have fledged now but we still have temperature sensors in there which will tell us if this makes any difference, as compared to the right hand box which has no heat protection. Thanks to Mike and Roger, our ‘A-Team’.”
July 2026
Monday 20th July – Ringing Sand Martins at Holt and Bevere
On Monday, Roger, John, Marie and Stuart visited our Holt and Bevere Lock Island Sand Martin hotels to check on the broods and ring chicks. At Holt, there are eight broods and two at Bevere. In total, 29 chicks were ringed. We’re happy to see the Sand Martins thriving despite the heatwaves!
June 2026
Thursday 11th June – Hallow School Visit
On Thursday, our Schools Project Team took a trip to Hallow School to chat to pupils about all things nature (and carry out Owl Pellet dissections!). Here’s Project Member Rosemary’s account of the visit:
“Well that was a fun day at Hallow School. So worried were we with the rain and traffic that we arrived 30 minutes early! Time for a coffee. Our first class up was Year Three, so the children were only seven and eight years old and rather quiet. Despite this, the children got involved with their Owl pellets and a few budding birders emerged!
There was then a degree of confusion as to where we were supposed to be next and of course we had the Director of RSPB England coming to listen in! We then had another delay as the children had to change from wet play, the Director arrived and was waiting, and the Headmistress told us we had too many people. Oops!
We survived and had an amazing time with the Year Six children who were totally engaged with the Owl presentation done by Steve and the dissections. One boy said “this is the best day of my life” and another stated “this is way better than computing”. Additionally, another boy refused to share the magnifying glass with his classmate he was so excited by it all!
Next, we played the calls of Owls but were told we cannot use phones in the classroom which is fair enough; we will have to come up with something else. The director spoke to the children and was really positive about the project! We have lots of ideas of how we can spread this project out to more schools and young people. There may even be a Birders event specifically for young people, watch this space!
Thanks to Judith, Michele, Simon and Steve for a good day’s work!”
May 2026
Wednesday 20th May – Diglis Sand Martin Box Update
For the first time this year, we opened our Diglis Lock Island Sand Martin box! During a school visit, we were able to check on the nests and ring our first two chicks of the year. The breeding season is off to a great start with 90% of the boxes we checked containing eggs or chicks.
April 2026
Saturday 11th April – Barn Owl Box Installation
Stuart and a local farmer installed a Barn Owl box at Buckmann’s Farm in Malvern this morning. With the help of a JCB telescopic handler, the two made short work of the installation! The organic livestock farm is a haven for nature, with Snipe, Jack Snipe and Woodcock all feeding on the fields during winter nights.
Tuesday 7th April – Schools Trip to Worcester University Lakeside Campus
Our Schools Team spent a chilled Tuesday at the University of Worcester Lakeside Campus. The twenty-four children carried out a range of engaging activities, from bird watching to a wildlife treasure hunt! Here is Schools Project Team Member Rosemary’s account of the day:
“We kicked off with the wildlife treasure hunt for half an hour to wear the children out a bit! Next, we bird watched over the lake through telescopes and binos. Following this, we carried out Owl Pellet Dissections and Worm Surveys. Then the children coloured in wooden birds which they were able to take home with them.
The group was a mix of boys and girls with all sorts of personalities, ranging from ages six to fourteen. Interestingly, the fourteen year old lad wound string round his wooden bird and then painted it with stick paints. This was very creative.
A girl who hadn’t wanted to come along and who wasn’t interested in OPD at first eventually became totally engaged; we had to stop her bone finding to go home! Another young lad aged around eight or nine exclaimed: “What the hell is that, poo? It’s disgusting!” Yet, twenty minutes later, he was still absorbed and told his mum he had found five rat, five mouse and five vole skulls!”
March 2026
Tuesday 31st March – Earth Day at The Hive
On Earth Day, our Schools Project Team were at The Hive in Worcester. The group joined a host of other environment-conscious organisations to inform Worcestershire locals of the excellent conservation projects in the area. Team member Rosemary gives her rundown of the day below:
“Today, the Schools Project Team were at The Hive for Earth Day alongside many other organisations who care for the environment and those within it. Our location required some creativity to let people know where we were and Kate our Swift Lady did a wonderful job of flying around to do just that.
The event was for families and we engaged with twenty-seven children and fifteen adults. Some painted our wooden birds, others coloured the Robin, Blackbird and Bluetit. They watched the video of the Sandmartins and learnt about the three hotels on the river Severn. All children were given RSPB activity books and posters of garden, woodland, water and seabirds.
We were next to the WWT and Worcestershires Local Nature Recovery Strategy. A worthwhile effort to attend this event and thanks to Simon and Catherine for attending”.
Monday 30th March – Conservation Work at Croome Court
Catherine, Nick, Craig and Stuart met at Croome on Monday to block gaps under the deer fence. This should prevent Muntjac from entering the estate and nibbling the coppiced hazel. This is part of our nightingale project, a conservation effort to regenerate the hazel forest and low-lying vegetation to aid breeding nightingales.
Wednesday 11th March 2026 – Preparing the Diglis Lock Island Sand Martin Box
On Wednesday, our team gathered to prepare the Diglis Lock nesting box for reinstallation. Our volunteers added six more nest boxes which had been crafted by Roger and Mike. Well done to Mike, Roger, Simon, Stuart, Frances, Karen and Steve. As of 15th March, the box is again ready to receive some feathered visitors!
Monday 2nd March 2026 – Building Deer Guards at Croome
Today, a group of volunteers gathered at Croome Court to build deer guards around our hazel trees. A fun day in the sun and a brilliant start to March.
February 2026
Saturday 28th February 2026 – Barn Owl Box Installation
On Saturday afternoon, Simon, Luke, and Stuart installed two more Barn Owl boxes at Cutnall Green and RSPCA Norton, Worcester. Early reports suggest that there is more prey, voles and mice, available this year than last. This is good news for the Barn Owls!
Tuesday 24th February 2026 – Primary School Visit
On Tuesday, our Schools Project Team visited Callow End Primary School. Rosemary said of the day:
“What a successful first encounter with four, five, and six year olds at Callow End Primary School today. Simon had a video of Blue Tits making their nest, laying their eggs and then feeding their young ready to fly off into the world. Simon chatted and they chatted of course, about everything Blue Tits including the dates of when things happened.
They were very engaging and knowledgeable for such small folk, and told us of Peacocks running across the road, daddies who had binoculars, big nests found in fallen trees, feeding their birds. We then painted wooden birds as Blue Tits and hung them up with string, they loved it. They also liked Simon and my t-shirts and I will forever more be Mrs Kestrel!
I think we can say it was a delightful morning and we were enthused by their enthusiasm and their keenness to find out more. This is why we continue to reach out to the children in our county sharing our knowledge with them and also having fun”.
Sunday 22nd February 2026 – Swift Box Installation
This weekend, our group has installed two more swift boxes on houses in St John’s. Duke of Edinburgh student Ellis joined Mike Lomas and Simon Evans to help with the installation, and the project was funded with a grant from the Green Party.
Monday 16th February 2026 – House Martin Tower Installation
On Monday, Simon met with Biodiversity Officer Lorna and Ian from Peak Boxes to install a House Martin tower at the Vale Malvern. The tower has a solar panel, allowing it to play House Martin colony chatter for three hours each morning and evening. There are twenty-four nesting cups built into the tower, and it is possible to add more if required.
Wednesday 4th February 2026 – Hallow Fields Working Party
A team of volunteers gathered at Hallow Fields again this Wednesday. The group planted a whopping 550 trees. In total, our group has planted over 2300 native hedgerow whips. This is a testament to the great things we achieve when we work together. What an incredible effort!
January 2026
Friday 30th January 2026 – Heart of England Forest Update
Steve, Simon, and Tim met with HoEF Biodiversity Officers Tasha and Ian to discuss our upcoming Peopleton project. They discussed planting seed crop and have agreed to planting up to seventeen acres this spring, with the aim to feed Corn Bunting and Yellowhammers. We are now waiting for the cost to be approved by the committee.
Thursday 22nd January 2026 – Croome Working Party
This Thursday, Members of our group gathered for another successful day of hazel coppicing at Croome. Additionally, the team erected deer guards, with the designs becoming ever more creative and beautiful as our skills develop!
Tuesday 20th January 2026 – Hallow Field Work Party
A group of volunteers gathered at Hallow Fields again to plant more wildlife hedge. Brilliant work by all, once again. The hedge will be an invaluable habitat for a variety of wildlife for many years to come!
Sunday 18th January 2026 – Heart of England Forest, Peopleton
The Heart of England Forest (HoEF) has purchased 250 acres at Springfield Farm, Peopleton, Worcestershire. We hope to aid conversion of the land from mainly agricultural use into a woodland and parkland landscape. Our Local Group has been conducting bird surveys on site for the last 15 months and has set up a feeding station for farmland birds. Good numbers of Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings have used the feeding station along with five sightings of Corn Buntings.
HoEF has agreed to allow our Group to sow a birdseed crop there to attract Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings. We hope that we will be able to plant trees on at least another seven to fifteen acres of open land. This will save the cost of mowing, and the proposal is that the crop will be grown at the RSPB’s expense. The group is still working out what this will cost, and your committee has yet to give the project the go ahead.
Thursday 15th January 2026 – Hallow Fields Work Party
Nineteen volunteers gathered at Hallow Fields today to plant wildlife hedges. The group planted 540 hedges, and staked and guarded 450 of them. An excellent job, with a well-deserved break for tea and cherry chocolate brownies provided by Lorna.
Also on Thursday, our Schools Team visited the Heart of Worcestershire College to work with students with complex needs. In the morning, the team presented the Owl Pellet Dissection to fifteen curious and enthusiastic students. They enjoyed listening to Owl calls and learning about Merlin, a brilliant app used to identify bird calls. The college made our team feel extremely welcome (they even set up reserved parking for us!) and the students helped us feel as though we had achieved something very special.
Thursday 8th January 2026 – Croome Coppicing
Today, a group of our hardy volunteers gathered at Croome to coppice hazel trees and build deer guards. The group did a brilliant job, and hopefully the coppiced hazel will regenerate into ideal Nightingale habitat over the next few years. Well done team!
