Time to Craft

I can’t help thinking that some of the birds, that we saw at Slimbridge today, were designed with the inspiration of art in mind.

The urge to pick up a pencil or paintbrush, was very tempting. Oh, those feathers and colours.

Today was bitterly cold, but dry, so we wrapped up warm and headed out to Slimbridge. It is run by the Wildlife and Wetland Trust and is amazing. There are so many different birds to see and learn about. The trust plays a big role in wetland conservation.

It’s the first time we’ve taken the children and they loved it. They are already planning their next trip. TF, at 5, has not reached the stage of standing around, spotting and watching. He does it for a while and then is ready to move on to the next. The reserve has a few play areas dotted around, which were perfect for giving him a break. AJ and BL just loved the birds. They could have spent a lot more time.

 Especially with the Hawaiian geese. AJ took some lovely close up photos of them, which I’m sure she’ll post up soon.

Next time we’ll remember to pick up a bag of seed to feed the geese.

Last year we went to see the Great Crane Project down on the Somerset Levels. It is a whole lot easier to see the Cranes at Slimbridge.

They also have a “Back from the Brink” mammal area. The children all loved seeing the otters and the tiny harvest mice. So much to see and learn about.

Too much for one day. Too many names to remember. It was impossible to give an answer to which was our favourite creature seen today. We will be back. I’ll remember a notepad and pen next time. Maybe even a sketching pad.

{ From top: red headed pochard, falcated duck, emperor geese, hawaiian geese, snow geese, great crane}