It was the second of our summer Wild Kids days today, and it was all about finding mammals - or more precisely how you find you've got mammals without actually seeing them...
Firstly we had planned to find a suitable patch of mud and do some plaster casts of animal tracks. Unfortunately (and this may be the only time I'll ever say this) it was too dry for us to find any mud at all so we bought out the backup plastic moulds and made some casts of those instead.
Then is was out on the reserve to look at hills and holes and boxes- our man-made hedgehog homes and bat boxes and the more natural burrows and sets out in the fields...
Rabbit!
We managed to learn a few other signs as well- rabbit droppings and fox poo were a big highlight, as was the buzzard pellet that one lad decided to take home to show to his parents while they have tea. Which will be a nice surprise for them. The kids also got to see film of the animals we hadn't seen in the flesh on the new interactive display in the centre featuring the best of our Hidden Strathbeg trailcam footage.
There were a few non-mammal additions to the day- a full moth trap this morning, lots of butterflies (including two Meadow Brown having a very private moment interrupted by a group of kids all anxious to see what they were doing) and these gorgeous green beetles munching their way through a dock leaf.
Next week is our Shelter Building which is now fully booked. The week after that we're up at Macduff Marine Aquarium as part of Gannet Week where we'll be exploring the sea shore and then having a trip out to Troup Head in the afternoon. That starts at 10.30am if you want to come along!