Region’s new hospital to provide home for endangered birds

FULL planning approval for the region’s newest hospital – the Midland Met – has ensured not only a state-of-the-art hospital for a population of 500,000 local people, but will also ensure a habitat for the endangered Black Redstart.

The little bird (around the size of a robin) is one of our rarest birds and is on the amber list of Birds of Conservation Concern as it is thought that there may only be about 40 breeding pairs in the country.

Following a sighting of the bird in the area, the planners and landscape architects of the Midland Met consulted wildlife expert Chris Parry, Principal Ecologist for Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust to ensure a habitat which would attract the Black Redstart was incorporated into the final plans.

Chris explained: “Migrating to Britain in the Spring, in terms of habitat, the Black Redstart is quite choosy.  It likes brownfield sites in towns and cities where tall buildings resemble the cliffs of their natural habitat in continental Europe.  They favour sites with holes and nooks and crannies for nesting and high vantage points where they can perch and sing.

“However to feed they require stony ground and river or canal sides to forage for insects.”

The new hospital site in Smethwick will offer all this, in the hope of attracting new mating pairs and encourage the local population to get involved with their local Wildlife Trust, as a positive step towards improving their health and wellbeing.

For more information on the Midland Met please visit www.swbh.nhs.uk, or to get involved with Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust http://www.bbcwildlife.org.uk.