Cupid will be hard at work this weekend and since 'tis the season, several of the staff here on the reserve have decided to share just what it is about Fairburn they love so much. Here is our Visitor Operations Manager, Kate:
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I have always loved Fairburn Ings. I’ve worked here less than a year but I used to visit for many years before. My favourite walk was always the Riverbank trail from the visitor centre to the village. I love the change in habitat that you can see along there. A wander along the heathland towards Bob Dickens, in the height of summer, could feel almost Mediterranean with the sun beating down and baking the bare earth and rocks, then, just when you need it, the reserve gives you some shade. Watching great crested grebe displaying, and coot nesting from this trail have been highlights for me.
Great crested grebe thanks to Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
So many of our visitors report seeing their first ever kingfisher at Fairburn Ings, and I am on that list of people. I love hearing your stories of your first kingfishers, not just because I’m pleased that the reserve can provide you with that opportunity, but because I get to reminisce about mine every time! My first ever glimpse of that flash of blue, and the “plop” as it pierced the water, came at the Cut near Charlie’s hide. And then I got to watch it sit on a branch, alert and watching for a fish.
Kingfisher thanks to Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
I didn’t fully appreciate the joy of the Lin Dike end of the reserve, until I started working here, and exploring it further. I love driving in every morning and seeing it change through the seasons but also day to day. The winter sunrises in particular have been so beautiful that they’ve brought a tear to my eye. The reserve changes over time, and I love watching it go through those changes. Fairburn Ings has seen me through the ups and downs of life too, and for that I will always be grateful.