Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve (grid reference SP017913) is a nature reserve, run by the RSPB, in Sandwell Valley, to the north of West Bromwich, in the Sandwell borough of West Midlands in England. It is adjacent to, and shares its main lake with, Sandwell Valley Country Park and near the settlement of Hamstead.

The lake and smaller pools are home to a wide range of water fowl and also play host to migrating birds. Among the species that attract birdwatchers to the hide are the goosander, lapwings, common snipe, little ringed plover and whitethroat.

The growing bio-diversity of the slopes attracts a very large range of wildlife, and therefore a number of raptors, including buzzards.

Other birds that have been seen on the reserve include Cetti's warbler, and smew. Common and Mediterranean gulls are seen annually on the reserve. Black-tailed godwits are seen every few years on the reserve.

The main summer breeding birds seen on the reserve include common tern, little ringed plover pictured, oystercatcher and many more. Summer warblers seen on the reserve include sedge warbler, reed warbler, whitethroat, chiffchaff, willow warbler and grasshopper warbler.Coot are a common breeder on the reserve but are often less successful.

Winter bird species seen include wigeon, teal, common snipe, jack snipe, goosander, and goldeneye. Water rail are seen more regularly in the winter with numbers going up to four individuals in 2013.

Some of the reserves star species are the lapwings that breed there annually, but again like the coot, they are less successful mainly due to predation. Ringed-necked parakeets are seen virtually everyday on the reserve and are now seen in a variety of areas including an area that has recently been formed and is known as Kingfisher Corner

We highly recommend the publications below to compliment your visit to this Region.

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