GUEST BLOGGER: Melanie Beck (Assistant Leader of the Norwich Nuthatches, RSPB children's wildlife club)
A December Norwich Nuthatches meeting could mean only one thing – time for some festive fun! We began with a Christmas word search to get us feeling Christmassy – I even wore my Santa hat!
First was a scavenger hunt, Christmas themed of course! We had many things to find including something soft like Santa’s beard (moss), something white like snow (a feather), a candy cane shaped twig, and even a branch shaped like a reindeers antlers. Our next task was to collect from the reserve floor things we could use to make our own decorations – a Christmas star or wreath. We collected twigs, berries and leaves and took them back to the workshop. With the help of some string, glue and glitter we had some beautiful creations that the children wanted to take home and hang on their doors!
It was getting a little chilly so we set off on a walk to warm up and to see if we could spot our own 12 days of Christmas, just like the song but with a wildlife theme. We had a sheet with some suggestions on like 2 collared doves, 5 cold things, and 7 swans a swimming. It was proving very tricky so we ended up making some of our own suggestions from the things we did see which included one robin singing, 3 pheasant hens, 5 cold fingers, 7 rooks flying and 11 cold people (the Nuthatches!). It’s a great game to play – why not give it a try on one of your walks before Christmas!
Before the meeting ended we had a little treat – a Christmas party. We enjoyed some delicious treats with the highlight being some Christmas tree biscuits – Yum. Thanks Carolyn! It’s been a great year for the Norwich Nuthatches, hope you’ll join us in 2014 for more wild adventures! Merry Christmas!
Written by Norwich Nuthatches assistant leader Melanie Beck.