Towns which are havens for wildlife

Figures obtained from the National Biodiversity Network compare the number of different species within a 1.25-mile radius of the major town centres in the region.

The figures show vast differences in the variety of wildlife in our major towns and cities.

Shrewsbury has the broadest range of wildlife, with 2,781 different species, while Dudley is ranked bottom with just 216 different species. The figures relate solely to wildlife, and do not include the animals kept in captivity at Dudley Zoo.

The figures suggest that the towns in Shropshire have a much greater diversity of wildlife, with Oswestry having 2,496 species, and Ludlow having 2,070 species.

However, biodiversity officer at Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust Andy Slater says the disparity between Shropshire and other areas in the West Midlands could be down to the way the figures are calculated.

He says not all local environmental record centres share their data with the National Biodiversity Network, as they prefer to manage access to the wildlife records they hold through their own local systems. This includes Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust's EcoRecord service, whereas its Salopian counterpart Shropshire Environmental Data Network dose share most of its records.

Wolverhampton had a slightly higher score than Dudley, with 292 species, and Lichfield had 382.

West Bromwich and Cannock both had 498 species, while Walsall had 565 species, and Stafford 563. The West Bromwich figure is boosted by the RSPB Sandwell Valley Nature Reserve which forms part of the area.

Surprisingly, given its comparatively rural location, Newport had just 408 species.

Somewhere in between lies Bridgnorth with 1,327 species, Kidderminster with 1,269, and Telford with 1,120.

While Dudley was bottom overall, it did score surprisingly highly for the number of wild mammals, with 16 species identified compared to eight in Walsall, seven in West Bromwich and 12 in Wolverhampton.

West Bromwich scored highly for flowering plants, with 229 species, compared to just four in Walsall, three in Dudley and two in Wolverhampton.

Shrewsbury, though, was comfortably ahead on both counts, with 27 mammals and 819 flowering plants, while Oswestry had 20 mammals and 651 flowering plants, and Ludlow 26 mammals and 630 flowering plants.

The most common creature was the long-tailed tit, with no fewer than 2,316 examples spotted in Shrewsbury, 535 in Walsall, 652 in West Bromwich and 375 in Oswestry.

However, in Ludlow the dominant creature is the sparrowhawk, with 243 records, while in Dudley it is the peacock butterfly, with 232 recorded examples. Ludlow also has 292 species of fungi. Bridgnorth has an unusually high bird count, with 730 long-tailed tits and 592 sparrowhawks.

Jan Mckelvey, conservation manager at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, says Shrewsbury had the widest range of species for a number of reasons.

But she agrees that the figures should be treated with some caution, saying that a low number of recorded species did not necessarily mean a lack of wildlife, and could simply be down to the amount of data available.

"The high number of species recorded for Shrewsbury reflects a set of circumstances unique to the town, including the long history of biological recording in the county, the fabulous green spaces that we have including the almost untamed River Severn which runs through town," she says.

"We have a range of very active and enthusiastic recording groups in the county, including Shropshire Botanical Society, Shropshire Ornithological Society, the local branch of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and a multitude of expert naturalists as well as the Field Studies Council located on our doorstep at Preston Montford.

"A word of caution however, a low number of species records does not necessarily equate to a lack of wildlife, especially in urban areas. It could just be that there are fewer records being sent in to the National Biodiversity Network."

Mr Slater says Birmingham and the Black Country Wildlife Trust's own database had more than 2.6 million records.

"These records come from many sources, ranging from professional ecologists to amateur expert naturalists to other wildlife enthusiasts," he said.

"A total of 9,486 species have been recorded in Birmingham and the Black Country including 694 species which are either protected or are of conservation concern."