For once, I was right about the weather! I have been secretly terrified of saying that I’d heard it was going to be a mild Christmas, just in case the weatherman in the sky decided to send another winter like last year, with the car being marooned for two weeks and travel ANYWHERE being a mammoth undertaking. So, now that I’ve let it out, I’ll be thinking of all the wonderful things that all that snow and ice will bring in January thanks to my talking about mild weather.
The post-Christmas rush of visitors getting some fresh air, and seeing the wildlife, has meant that our sightings book has been nice and full since we reopened on the 27th. My favourite so far was an entry stating that a visitor wasn’t sure what exactly they had seen, but they had had a great time nonetheless – a perfect example that you definitely do not need to put a name to something to enjoy seeing it! I had a fantastic but all-too-brief view of a Kingfisher yesterday, as I was running manically around the reserve preparing an activity for our Wild Wednesday event. At the Kingfisher Screen, I saw that I had two minutes to pin up a picture of something for the children to identify, before everyone was due to arrive. A very nice lady told me that the Kingfisher was here, and it was the closest I have ever seen the Kingfisher; just the other side of the screen, bright blue and in perfect profile – and I had to leave it there! Of course, when I went back later to take the picture down, there was no sign of a Kingfisher anywhere.
Our next event will be on Sunday 1st January, when we will be hosting an Optics Day. If you’re not sure about which pair of binoculars, or which telescope, is right for you, then we will be on hand to give you all the advice you need. Weather dependent we will have our optics out on the balcony for everyone to try out. Following on from this, it’s the Big Garden Birdwatch weekend on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January. You can count the birds in your garden, as well as here, and we’ll be basing the whole weekend around garden birds and the Big Garden Birdwatch.
One thing I have been doing for the garden birds since Christmas is stocking up on treats! I was extremely grateful to receive a window bird feeder for Christmas, which for someone without a garden is extremely exciting, I’m sure I’ve bored enough people about it. Sunflower drops (sunflower seeds coated in beef suet) are now 99p (down from £1.99) and Peck n Mix is now £1.49 (down from £3.49), so guess what I’ve been going home with.
I’m sure they’ll need some fattening up when the snow and ice blocks all of the roads. You can thank me when it starts.