Guest blog by: Alison Cross, Learning Assistant
Ian is very good at keeping us all updated about the wildlife seen at Minsmere, while I am going to update you about the little featherless two legged creatures...children! This week is the fifth week of the summer holidays, (for some parents it might feel like the tenth week) but there is still plenty of things to do at Minsmere.
Pond dipping on Mondays has been very popular, with children learning about what lives in a pond. One child said “I learnt that there are many different species in water, it was fascinating”. Also on Mondays, children have been making lots of frog masks, dragonfly pegs and jazzy newts, plus looking at pond creatures under our microscope. Harry said “Using a microscope to identify species was awesome”.
Photo by Christine Hall
Tuesdays at Minsmere are owl pellet dissection days in the Discovery Centre. Over the last five weeks a variety of mammal bones have been identified from pellets, such as field voles, shrews and even a moles skull. The Hendley family loved the owl pellet day and said “we had lots of fun and learned a lot”. Another family even planned their holiday around coming to Minsmere for pellet dissection, “we discovered online that there was the opportunity to dissect owl pellets, so we organised our holiday dates and days to be able to do this. It was fantastic, we could have stayed all day, but because we wanted to see the ‘living’ wildlife, we took our finds home to mount up!”
Skulls and bones by Christine Hall
Owl pellet dissection photo by Oscar Dewhurst
Nature walks on Wednesdays have been really popular, with butterflies, bee-wolves and ant lions high on the spotting list. Bella said “I liked looking at the creatures’ habitats”. While indoors children have been creating their own minibeasts and birds to take home.
Bird ringing on Thursday has defiantly been the highlight of the week, with the bird ringers catching a range of birds such as bearded tits, willow warblers and lots of blue tits (64 yesterday). Some children were lucky enough to assist in the releasing of these birds, after they have been ringed, weighed and measured (the birds, not the children).
Ringed bearded tit by Christine Hall
The exciting eel family trail also started this week, where children have been following Evie the eel around Minsmere learning about her life cycle and how Minsmere has helped her to survive. Evie has lots of questions and activities, so pick up the trail sheet when you arrive at reception. The trail runs daily until 27 September.
Take a look at the rest of Minsmere’s school holiday events via our website:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/m/minsmere/events.aspx
Once the summer holidays end and the children are back to school, why not bring your under 5s to our new toddler events running every second Monday of every month. Minsmere Reedlings aims to get your little one closer to nature and a bit muddy. To book and for more details call 01728 648780 or see our website:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/events/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-405406
Photo by Jasper Mattias
Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, whatever the weather!