TICE’S Meadow Bird Group held its annual BioBlitz over the bank holiday weekend at Tice’s Meadow Nature Reserve in Badshot Lea.

Activities included a bird ringing demonstration, small mammal trapping, a bat walk, pond dipping, moth trapping, mammal footprint tunnels and bug hotel building.

This year’s BioBlitz began with the official opening ceremony for the site on the Friday, with the Mayor of Farnham cutting a ribbon on the new footbridge over the River Blackwater.

It was to signify the end of the restoration of the site from a working sand and gravel quarry to a community nature reserve. The quarry was originally going to be restored to agricultural land, but the group saw the potential for it as a nature reserve.

Around 150 members of the public visited the ‘urban reserve’ over the weekend, taking part in activities and enjoyed the wildlife, while making the most of the glorious sunshine.

Mark Elsoffer, secretary of Tice’s Meadow Bird Group, said: “It’s a real centre piece of what we do and it encourages the locals to get involved.

“Come and see the nature on your doorstep, it’s a hidden gem in the local area and there’s nowhere else like this around here really. There’s all sorts of things you can do onsite, as long as you respect the site and the wildlife.”

New to this year’s BioBlitz was a fly expert and earth worm specialists, and it was generously supported by Hanson, the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership, the Badshot Lea Kiln, the Farnham Foxes, the Surrey Bird Club and the Army Ornithological Society.

Richard Horton, chairman of the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group, said: “Our BioBlitz is an entirely volunteer-led effort. Twelve of the volunteers camped onsite over the weekend, with some not leaving site for over 76 hours!

“The level of dedication shown by the volunteers in ensuring a successful event for the visitors to site is admirable and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

When asked why he wanted to get involved in the restoration, Richard said: “I feel that nature is very important to wellbeing, mental well-being, and also there were a lot, when we first started, of soldiers coming back from Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, who had difficulty coming back into the community.

“That’s where we feel quite proud that we’ve been able to bring those people in and get the brain off what they were doing to something out there in nature.”

Roger Dickey, president of the bird group and a BTO licensed ringer, once again conducted bird ringing with a team of trainee ringers.

Of the 112 birds caught and rung, there were 22 species - almost double the number ringed at last year’s BioBlitz. The scientific data gained from the bird ringing will contribute to national scientific efforts in the study of ornithology (study of birds), as well as helping understand how the birds are using the site.

For example, a reed warbler caught last weekend was ringed onsite back in 2015 and has since then migrated to sub-Saharan Africa and back again three times, returning each year to breed at Tice’s Meadow.

A well-attended guided bird watching walk was led by volunteer Richard Seargent, followed by a guided bat walk led by Steve Bailey of the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership on Saturday night.

The Surrey Mammal Group set up small mammal traps last Thursday, returning on Saturday morning with groups of visitors to inspect the contents - 12 wood mice were found.

Scouts from the 2nd Aldershot Scout Group also built bug hotels which will form part of the new Tice’s Meadow Biodiversity Trail, providing much needed homes and foraging opportunities for insects.

There were 75 species of bird recorded over the weekend, as well as 15 new species of wildlife. This takes the grand total of species recorded onsite to 1,138. Over £400 was raised for the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group, all of which will be spent on improving the nature reserve for the benefit of the wildlife and the visitors to site.

Simon Elson, from Surrey County Council, said the site is still in its “toddler phase”, and the “best is yet to come”.

For more information about the nature reserve, go to www.ticesmeadow.org.