The following appeared in the Birmingham Evening Mail, 7 March 1980.
by Roland Smith
Sixty-two acres of oak woodland which have remained virtually unchanged since Saxon times are to be protected in a new Midland nature reserve.
The new reserve is along the valley of the Dowles Brook in the ancient Wyre Forest, near Bewdley.
It will be managed jointly by the West Midland Bird Club and the Worcestershire Nature Conservation Trust with the aim of conserving the increasingly-rare wildlife habitats provided by the woodland.
The reserve is very close to the existing National Nature Reserve in the forest, described as one of the finest remaining examples of native woodland in Britain.
Among the rare bird species found there are the pied flycatcher, wood warbler, buzzard and sparrowhawk and, along the brook, kingfisher and the underwater hunter the dipper.
The forest floor provides a rich habitat for plant species, including the narrow-leaved helleborine and wild lily of the valley, and many national rarities among butterflies and moths.
Mr. Tony Blake, chairman of the WMBC said they hoped that the new reserve would be named to perpetuate the memory of Dr. Fred Dale, a long-standing club member who died three years ago and left the club about £7,500.
"We decided we wanted to use this money for a positive purpose towards nature conservation.
"When we had our 50th anniversary [last] year we wanted to celebrate it in three ways, a reception with the Lord Mayor, a book which is now under preparation, and the establishment of a new reserve. This is the final element."
The club, which has nearly 2,000 members throughout the Midlands, already leases a reserve at the Belvide Reservoir in Staffordshire.
The club and the trust will be assisted in the management of the reserve by the Nature Conservancy Council.
The long-term lease on the reserve is being purchased jointly by the two bodies from the existing landowner.
[Picture caption: The pied flycatcher, one of the rarities found in the Wyre Forrest.]
Sadly, the Club had to surrender the lease of the Fred Dale Reserve in 1994.
Thanks to Trevor Mabbett, who found this in an old newspaper, while clearing out his loft!
Ornithology in Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire & the West Midlands county, since 1929.
Fetched from http://www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/club/press/bem-1980-03-07.htm on Saturday 11 February 2012 12:41:29
(
We remind you that these are other organisations' sites and that we accept no responsibility for their content)
