At last after a long, cold and sometimes rather slippery winter, we have reached the bitter end and I am glad to announce that Spring has finally sprung at Mersehead!! We’ve had our first summer migrants turning up with sightings of Wheatear and Chiffchaff in the last few days and the lapwings and waders are starting to display over the fields. The air is filled with birdsong, most especially the lilting tune of the skylarks over the merse! In the words of Wordsworth there are “a host of golden daffodils” sprouting up everywhere, (sorry couldn’t think of any suitable Robbie Burns!!) To celebrate the long awaited arrival of Spring we are having a Craft Fair this weekend. There will be 18 stalls of locally made crafts and produce from jams and jewellery to textiles and photography! There will also be a number of demonstrations from some of the crafters including jewellery making, spinning and quilling! The fair runs across the weekend 10-4pm both days. On Saturday we also have our Barnacle Goose Bonanza, which forms part of the Wild Goose Chase event. We will have guided walks, a Barney Treasure trail and goose related art activities in the Visitor Centre!
Next month sees the annual Wildlife Festival in Dumfries and Galloway, we have risen to the challenge and are offering 4 events a week throughout the festival. We have two family events each week, Wild Wednesdays 11-4pm every Wednesday in April, with lots of fun and activities for the family including wildlife workshops. Family Fun Fridays 11-4pm every Friday in April, there will be a beach art competition, pond dipping and more! We also have two weekly guided walks, Tony’s Tall Tales every Wednesday 10-12.30pm and Mersehead Meanders every Saturday 10-12.30pm. As if this wasn’t enough we are also doing offsite events at Cream O’ Galloway and Kippford Holiday Park and we’re hoping to assist the Forestry Commission with a birdsong walk too!!
So please spread the word and we’ll hope to see some of you down here soon!!