Just as we thought spring had sprung here at Lake Vyrnwy, back came the wintry snowy showers that fell like a blanket all around us. Thankfully, it was quite short-lived and on this occasion looked absolutely beautiful and didn’t interrupt working life too much!
A wintry Lake Vyrnwy
It wasn’t long before the sunshine made an appearance for our annual Easter Sunday scavenger hunt reminding us all that spring had indeed arrived after all! Children (and parents alike) were sent all around the sculpture park foraging for quite a few nature related items, with the ‘something red’ causing a challenge for quite a few! When they’d collected all the items on their list and we’d had a bit of fun checking them all off back at base, each child was rewarded with their chocolate surprise! Thankfully, the Easter bunny had delivered just enough for everyone…….poor Gavin didn’t have any left over to tuck into Tuesday morning after his bank holiday weekend off. Sorry Gav!
Where are those chocolate eggs!
Our lambing events are proving to be as successful as ever this year, with most dates now sold out. We now only have availability left on Saturday 21st and Saturday 28th April so if you were thinking about popping along to one of our events (highly recommended by the way), I’d get in touch sooner rather than later as we do hate to turn people away.
Perhaps getting your hands dirty on the farm isn’t quite your thing and something a bit more relaxing sounds a little more appealing. Why not join us for a bit of forest bathing mid-May (there’s no water involved I promise, unless it rains of course). Come and immerse yourselves in a nature-based wellness experience here at Lake Vyrnwy. Forest bathing, or being in the presence of trees, is a Japanese practice known as 'shinrin-yoku' that can boost the immune system, decrease stress and lower blood pressure. The two hour session will be run by an experienced practitioner, who will guide and relax you and help you connect with the natural world via mindfulness, grounding and the use of the senses. For full details click HERE.
Male goosander from lakeside road (by Gavin Chambers)
After the wintry flurry on bank holiday Monday migrant birds have and are slowly starting to appear on the reserve. The first wheatear have been seen along the mountain roads and a few more chiffchaff are singing in the woodlands. Goosander can now be seen paired up around the lake as they think about finding a suitable nest site, either a hole high up a tree or one of our large nest boxes. A mandarin has been seen from the Centenary Hide along with a little grebe and long-tailed tits flitting around the trees. We also had 5 whooper swans drop into the lake on the 4th April, viewable from the Lakeside Hide, which looked very tired and were probably resting up before continuing their journey north with a final destination of Iceland.
By early May the majority of migrants will have arrived back for the summer and with an early morning start you can experience the amazing sound of these birds during the Dawn Chorus. So why not join our Warden on the 6th May at 5am for a guided walk to see what species can be heard and perhaps seen once the sun comes up!
Sioned Jones, Visitor Experience Manager
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