Black Country comes 13th in global nature spotting challenge
Nature enthusiasts have been thanked for their part in representing the Black Country region in an international nature spotting challenge.
The Black Country and Birmingham entry had the highest number of entries from its residents out of all of Europe in the City Nature Challenge.
It also came 13th highest in the world.
The competition is between cities all over the world and asks citizens to see how many wild species of animals they can spot in four days in April.
Cities were ranked according to the number of observations, number of species recorded and the number of observers.
More than 16,000 observations of 1,300 different species were recorded on smart phones, tablets and computers in the Black Country and Birmingham between April 24 and 27.
Wardens at Dudley Council’s nature reserves helped identify species, including a small bird called a reed bunting.
A total of 244 cities took part, from the US, South America to South Africa, Japan and New Zealand. The information will be made into a database to benefit scientists and conservationists.
Councillor Karen Shakespeare, Dudley Council's cabinet member for environmental, highways and street services, said: "We have worked with a number of organisations and partners to ensure Dudley borough played its part in this important challenge and I want to thank the thousands of people in our region who shared their observations.
"The number of people taking part has really grown over the last few years and the coronavirus lockdown seems to have given us all an extra impetus to look at the natural world surrounding us."
