TWASI Visit to Charlecote Park – Sunday 15th October 2023
A good sized group of us met up on a lovely autumn day at Charlecote Park, a
National Trust property in Warwickshire.
The day started as usual with a welcoming cuppa and a chat, as we caught up with
everyone’s news.
The park houses a large herd of Fallow Deer, some of which we could see in the
distance, many dozing in the shade of the trees as the day warmed up.
It got so warm that we all ate our lunch sitting in the courtyard café of the Hall, and
were pleased to see dragonflies and butterflies about in the sunshine.
The sun had also brought out the public, and the overflow car park was full, but
everyone dispersed around the huge parkland, so it wasn’t crowded.
Sarais Crawshaw
TWASI Visit to Dudley Zoo – Tuesday 5th September 2023
A small group of us went to Dudley Zoo near Birmingham, on what turned out to be a
scorching hot day.
Luckily there was a slight breeze, and the zoo has plenty of tree cover, so we were
able to find some shade. Unfortunately, many of the animals were also hot, and
especially the big cats, were mostly asleep!
The zoo is on a steep slope, so getting up to the top was quite an effort, we took it
very slowly!
The Sumatran Tiger, Snow Leopard and Lions were far too sleepy to do more than
blink at us, and the beautiful Lynx just rolled over – fancy wearing those fur coats in
that heat.
The only one with any energy was a young Orang-Utan, making the most of some
quite new gymnastic equipment in their enclosure. This was good to see, as the
Orang-Utans previously had a rather restricted area.
The Zoo has fluctuated in quality over the years, but currently seems to be improving
many of the enclosures, and the animals looked well cared for and with plenty of
space and equipment. If only the same could be said for the catering.
Sarais Crawshaw
TWASI Visit to Hamerton Zoo – Tuesday 11th July 2023.
A few of us visited Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire on a rather cloudy but warm day.
They seem to specialise in Big and small cats, and there were quite a variety, from huge
White Tigers to smaller cats such as Serval and Oncilla – this is a rather pretty one about the
size of a domestic cat that I hadn’t seen before.
All the enclosures are roomy, giving the larger animals plenty of roaming about space.
The tigers are overlooked by several areas with large glass windows, making it easy to watch
them as they stride past or dip in their pond – though I have never been lucky enough to see
this.
The cheetah in particular have a very large grassland to roam in, in fact it was difficult to see
any which were lying down in the grass.
There was also a new enclosure with several Syrian Brown Bears, and a young one was
enjoying playing in a large lake.
The collection is varied, and there are plenty of unusual species. There is also more building
work going on as the park expands, so it’s well worth a visit.
Sarais Crawshaw
TWASI Visit to Slimbridge WWT on June 20th 2023
There were just four of us on this TWASI trip to Slimbridge WWT, but we made
most of the day exploring the wetland site. We were very lucky with the weather
because the day remained mostly dry, after a bad thunder storm, and we were
able to enjoy watching the antics of the great variety of birds on display in this
wonderful reserve (over 100 different sorts of wetland birds in their living
collection alone).
We met up in the Visitor Centre and after a coffee set off to explore.
The amenities and entertainment at Slimbridge are very good, including an art
gallery which was displaying the impressive works of TWASI members Mandi
Baykaa-Murray and Dave Wettner.
We stepped out from the gallery straight into a well planned and sign-posted
parkland area where the water birds, more accustomed to us humans,
immediately greeted us. The parkland open areas were split up into ponds for
bird types or territories, and are great for showing how well camouflaged the
young fledglings can be.
As we walked through the reserve, the land became wilder. Thirteen hides are
distributed throughout the site in various sizes, from high towers to a shepherd’s
hut. Those I went in were great viewing platforms (there was even a Kingfisher
hide) and all these hides, I imagine, are more comfortable than the original pill
box used by Sir Peter Scott.
There are really great views over the Severn Estuary from the Estuary Tower.
Additionally, the summer walkway is open May-October and that leads to views
of the Severn Estuary and an area very popular with keen birdwatchers who are
happy to tell you what to look out for.
Unfortunately, I didn’t see the Bluethroat in the reeds.
The weather held out till late afternoon and during a light shower I was able to
duck into a hide and then found I was sharing it with a family of swifts, what a
treat! So it was a great day all-round.
There is a lot more I didn’t get round to see, and I look forward to a return visit in
the not too distant future to learn about the birds the experts were so happy to
point out to me … those birds with stilts and those without.
Karen Burke
TWASI visit to Wicken Fen 6th June 2023
A small group of TWASI members had a very pleasant day out at Wicken Fen on 5 th
June.
We strolled round the Fen on the boardwalk, and took a boat trip along the lode,
punctuated by morning coffee, lunch, plus cup of tea and cake before leaving at the
café by the entrance.
The weather was dull, but it remained dry and warm enough to sit outside whilst
eating, where we were entertained by the friendly sparrows which always seem to
know where the café is located.
From one of the hides, we enjoyed watching two marsh harriers hunting over Sedge
Fen and were delighted to catch a glimpse of muntjac deer in an apparently empty
field. Occasionally a head popped up out of the long grass but then disappeared
completely as the deer lay down again – there were at least three of them. The boat
trip gave a different view of the area from low down, and the boatman added to our
knowledge of the area by telling us about the drainage of the fens since the time of
King Charles I, and describing the relationship between the reed buntings and
cuckoos which breed there.
We caught a glimpse of a common lizard disappearing too quickly to photograph but
the lack of sunshine meant that we did not see the many damselflies and dragonflies
for which this nature reserve is famous. Wild roses, comfrey and ragged robin were
in full flower and it was interesting to look closely at the reeds and sedges along the
walkways.
Jennifer Horn
TWASI DAY VISIT TO ATTENBOROUGH NATURE RESERVE, NOTTINGHAM
SATURDAY 20 TH MAY 2023.
We had a good day out at the Attenborough Nature Reserve – it was a lovely sunny day,
with not too strong a wind, and we saw some lovely birds. There were lots of visitors at the
Visitor Centre, but as the place is so spacious, it didn’t seem crowded at all.
There were plenty of chicks with the geese that were about, and a great Crested Grebe sat
on a nest of three eggs that I could see.
As she was near the bridge to the café, we had quite a good view of her and of her
partner, who was out and about foraging and tittyfying the nest with bits of weed.
There were Canada Geese with little ones, and a pair of what looked like Egyptian Geese
with a large family.
We went down to see if we could see the Sand Martins, and luckily they obliged us by
coming out. No chance of a photo of them as they’re so fast and don’t rest anywhere, too
busy feeding no doubt. Wonderful sight though, and at least we saw them.
There were Coots with little ones, and Mute swans about, and Mallards as well, of course.
One chap who is a regular visitor there told us that he’d seen and heard a Bittern and also
a Hobby flying around. Sadly we didn’t see or hear anything of them, but not to worry – we
did see a Little Egret flying over.
A few Cormorants were fishing, and many gulls and common terns were about.
Overall there was plenty to see, even early in the year, which was nice, including
Damselflies and a few Butterflies, so all in all it was a good day.
Pauline Thompson.
TWASI Day Visit to Middleton Lakes, Saturday 18th March
On an uninspiring Saturday in March, five of us met up at Middleton Lakes, an RSPB reserve near Tamworth in Staffordshire. The weather promised rain, so we started off with a coffee in the courtyard café.
A series of lakes are connected by woodland paths, and the Birmingham & Fazeley canal also runs alongside the
reserve. With several trails you can follow through the reserve, we chose to take the Woodland Trail.
We crossed over a boardwalk, where there were good views of the heronry, and also a bird feeder with lots of small birds – Tits, Finches, Dunnocks, and a couple of opportunist rats picking up the seed dropped by the birds!
On the way through the woods we came across a small viewing platform which looked out over a lake, and had logs placed upright as feeders.We were rewarded by a really close-up view of a pair of Nuthatches, along with Great Tits, Blue Tits and Robins, none of which were in the least bothered by us being there.
As we went on through the woodland, there were many birds to hear and see. A Woodpecker was drumming to establish his territory, and we also heard the first Chiffchaff of the season, always a sign that Spring is here.
We continued on through the woods by the river, and came out by the canal. A Reed Bunting obligingly decided to walk along the bridge over the canal, where people had put seeds for the birds.
Over the bridge was a fairly large lake, with small islands and reed beds. There were many Black-Headed Gulls, Shovelers, Shellduck, Tufted Ducks and also a pair of Egyptian Geese. As we returned to the courtyard for lunch, in the fields were a flock of Greylag & Canada Geese.
After lunch we went back to the boardwalk, where we stood to watch the Herons on their nests in the heronry on large oak trees. They were some distance away, but we had quite a good view.
The promised rain didn’t cause us much of a problem, and we had a really good day – it’s certainly a place we would visit again.
Barbara Saunderson.
TWASI Visit & Get-Together at Slimbridge – January 2023
Rather than a pre-Christmas Get-Together, we had a New Year one this year, and 12 members joined in on a very sociable day.
After joining up for a sociable catch-up over a cup of coffee, we went round the site.
The weather had been extremely wet early on, but cleared at Slimbridge, and we had some brilliantly sunny spells at times, with a few showers later, windy, but relatively mild.
I walked out to the Estuary hide and then back via other hides, and watched some large flocks of birds, mainly lapwing, flying over the wet fields.
A Ruff (in winter eclipse) and a Spoonbill were interesting sights, and there were quite a number of Bewick swans about as well.
We met up at lunch time, and had a very sociable meal together, with plenty of chat.
After lunch a group of us went to be shown the Duck Decoy in action, using a fox-like dog to encourage the mallards into the netting “tube”.
This would originally have been done to use the birds for food, but is now done to allow ringing and research before releasing the birds.
It was surprising to see that the ducks were not chased into the net as I had expected, but they followed the dog – keeping the “predator” in their sights.
We were also shown the Duck Hut, and given an interesting insight into how ringing can show how birds migrate, which gives valuable knowledge of how birds numbers are faring in different locations.
Some of us then used our time to sketch the birds in the heated hide, & watch the wild bird feed at sunset.
Sarais Crawshaw
The Wildlife Art Society International 