Schools were out for half term last week, but that didn’t mean our Education Team could have a break! It was all go here at Leighton Moss with the first ever Angela’s Wildlife Amble and the return of the ever popular “What Lives Beneath” pond dipping sessions.
On Tuesday we were joined by our very knowledgeable field teacher, Angela, who guided families around the reserve learning about the wonderful wildlife we have on offer. The walk began with bird watching from the Hideout, giving the youngsters chance to see a nuthatch amongst others. The children noticed the nuthatch was putting mud around the hole in a nest box and after some scientific thinking they were able to figure out this could be to prevent predators entering. We then moved on to our moth trap where we looked at live moths such as the poplar hawk moth, peach blossom and white ermine. There are over 500 species of moth on the reserve and there’s a chance to find more of them with our experts on our Meet a Moth event on Saturday 28 June.
White ermine moth (RSPB images)
The exploring continued with a hunt for dragonflies and damselflies around the pond and we were lucky to come across some of the beautiful insects flying amongst the reeds. Continuing to Lillian’s Hide, the families used hand lenses to investigate why sticky weed is sticky which really gave them a chance to get ‘stuck’ into nature (excuse the pun!). We rounded off in the hide where we were graced with the marsh harrier swooping over the reeds and we even saw the amazing courtship dance of the great crested grebe. We have more family wildlife walks during the summer holidays so have a look what’s on and join in the fun!
On Thursday pond dipping was magnified to a whole new level with the use of our new digital microscopes and 70” LCD screen. The wonders of technology enabled our participants to see in high resolution the creatures they had caught down at the pond, providing the ‘wow factor’ for both children and adults alike!
What lives beneath? Photos by Rebecca Jackson.
Families using microscopes. Photo by Carol Bamber.
Our digital microscope and LCD screen showing a damselfly larva. Photo by Rebecca Jackson.
In our all family pond dipping events we provide all the equipment needed and our experts are at hand to help identify the living things lurking in the pond. The sessions run during the school holidays so bring your little dippers along to see what creatures you can catch.