It's New Year's Eve so I thought I'd reminisce over the past year at Fairburn Ings and share with you a few of my highlights. I've only worked at Fairburn since April so my favourite bits are a bit summer and autumn heavy - feel free to share your own highlights though and tell me what I missed in the early months of 2015!
First of all, I have to start with the avocet explosion of 2015! And by explosion I mean the largest number of avocet chicks the reserve has seen. This is my favourite photo (thanks to Joe Seymour for taking it) of the avocets and chicks. There are THREE chicks under that parent!
Big Wild Sleepout was our biggest event of the year with nearly 100 people camped out on the reserve overnight in August. We pond dipped, explored, made natural dyes and charcoal and painted with them, had a campfire and did a quiz around it. We found bats and frogs and barn owls. We did some stargazing and saw Saturn and the ISS! We even made bug homes to Give Nature a Home.
These photos from Big Wild Sleepout are thanks to Liberty Monkman:
I've really enjoyed the sunrises and sunsets more recently too and here are some of my favourites:
And then finally I've loved the sheer diversity of life to be found on the reserve. Here is some of the wildlife that has amazed me and many of our visitors over 2015! (The ruby tailed wasp is thanks to Joe Seymour)