So there it is for another year, the BBQ has been covered, the marshmallows have been hidden away from staff and the Big Wild Sleepout is over for another year!
Luckily the weather was on our side and there was glorious sunshine throughout, only interrupted during the evening when it got a bit chilly, but that didn’t dampen our spirits!
The campsite, note the sun beating down on the tents, making them uninhabitable till about 9pm because of the heat, there was too much to see and do anyway!
The day started with a guided walk by Kate, the Warden, who led the campers around the site and went to see the meadows and the livestock. The cows came over hoping for some food only to be left disappointed but the group did see hundreds of dragonflies and damselflies, a Grass snake, toads and frogs, Little egrets, Lapwings, Oystercatchers and Southern marsh orchids!
Throughout the day there were nature trails, pond dipping, den building, treasure hunts and more for everyone to go out and explore the reserve and people weren't disappointed. Most people didn’t have to go far to experience the nature we had on offer as we had Emperor dragonflies hunting over the campsite while people were putting up the tents and Ravens, Buzzards, Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk putting on a display over the meadow.
This was followed by the BBQ! Burgers and hotdogs were enjoyed by everyone as we tested out the new BBQ, which proved to be a bit more powerful than expected as we set fire to a foil tray full of sausages, my eyebrows are only just starting to grow back!
RSPB volunteers Chris and Lou wait like vultures for their chance at the BBQ.
The evenings activities started with bat and owl walks that allowed people to venture onto the reserve to look for the target species. Sadly no owls were seen but the owl group did manage to do what the bat walkers didn’t, which was to find some bats! Pipistrelles were found hunting over the Heronry silt pool giving great views as they pursued the insects over the water and allowed everyone to break out the bat detectors and hear them as they flew over head.
Once everyone had returned from the walks, the campfires had been lit and the marshmallows were broken out. We did also manage to bake some damper bread, but only after Chris had found his bowls, they were behind the POD all along, I’ve no idea who put them there...
With everyone full up with marshmallows and bread it was time to call it a night and everyone turned in, ready for a bright and early start the next morning.
The tents on a lovely sunny morning.
As everyone started to stir, the smell of bacon and sausages slowly wafted through the tents and soon everyone was tucking into bacon baps and croissants, getting ready for a march around the wetlands with Chris. This proved to be a productive walk as the group got good views of juvenile Herons, Lapwings, Common terns and Treecreepers in the woodland among many other birds, butterflies, dragonflies and more.
With the walk returning, there was still time for people to go off and do the nature trails and the pond dipping nets got a good workout as people managed to find frogs, toads, fish, diving beetles, dragonfly larvae and much, much more.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend that was enjoyed by everyone, some fantastic wildlife was seen, the BBQ was a great success and everyone left happy, albeit a bit tired after a frantic few days. We're already looking forward to the next one!
Many thanks to RSPB volunteer Richard Hancy for providing the photos of the event and thanks to all the visitors, volunteers and staff that made this a really enjoyable weekend!