TWASI Visit to Twycross Zoo 9th November 2025
The day began with a coffee in the View Restaurant overlooking the Snow Leopards, with
Sarais, Pauline, Rosemary, Colin, Neil and myself.
They have 2 Snow Leopards, Khumbu born at the Big Cat Sanctuary and Nuri a female
recently arrived from Salzburg Zoo. They don’t appear to have been introduced yet.
Khumbu rushed over to the end panel and raised his paws on the glass, to watch the
humans on the other side, much to their surprise.
Our next stop was to the four Chapman Zebra who were outside.
The weather was overcast, not cold for the time of year but not all the animals braved the
outside. We spent time with the Giraffe, Rhino and Primates before heading back to the
View Restaurant for lunch.
The choice of hot food at all outlets was limited to fish and chips, burgers, pizza, pasta etc.
A bowl of hot soup would have been a welcome alternative.
After eating we saw the snow leopard Khumbu wandering around again, and then found
the Amur Leopard relaxing on a platform in front of the window.
The Humboldt Penguins didn’t seem to mind the weather, with some standing in a group,
while others enjoyed the water, diving and splashing around.
Some changes have taken place with a New Global Conservation Centre and area for
Bornean Orangutan habitat being built. The Vicuna are in a different area and we briefly
saw one Sumatran Tiger.
Please be aware that Twycross now charge for parking each time. There is a hefty fine
for non-payment. Pay at the time of booking tickets online or at the pay stations inside the
entrance. Zoo entrance fee now lasts for 1 year, so return as often as you wish.
Joy Roberts
TWASI Visit to Cotswold Falconry, Batsford Estate – September 2025.
Low, brooding skies and the promise of rain set the scene when five of us – Barbara,
Chris, Bridget, Sarais and I gathered at the Cotswold Falconry Centre, set within the
beautiful Batsford Estate, in early September.
Fortunately, well-timed breaks in the rain meant the educational flying displays were able
to go ahead, offering a fascinating insight into the birds’ skills and behaviour in flight. The
heavy, humid air made them a little sluggish – sadly there were no generous thermals for
soaring flight that day.
One of the highlights was the incredible Secretary Bird, named for the long feathers at the
back of its’ head that resemble quill pens tucked behind a secretary’s ear. While the owls
and hawks were captivating as they swooped down towards their prey, the secretary bird
hunts in a very different way – striding and stomping with its impressively long legs.
An unexpected moment came when this spectacular bird decided to take flight. What
followed was a memorable display of those extraordinary legs as it ran, and ran, and ran…
until it disappeared completely from view, much to everyone’s amusement.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and a valuable opportunity for gathering reference
material. And in case you’re wondering – there’s a reason I rarely use my own reference
photos!
Still, I did manage to capture a few images of the beautiful birds.
My thanks to Barbara, Chris, Bridget and Sarais for great company, good humour, and for
embracing the elements on this TWASI visit.
Louise Hancox
TWASI Visit to Cotswold Wildlife Park – September 2025
On a rather cloudy and chilly day in late September, a small group of us visited the
Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford, Oxfordshire.
This venue has always proved an excellent place for gathering reference, though it was
extremely busy with families on this Saturday.
Some of the animals were obviously finding the chilly weather an excuse to keep warm,
and it was hard to see much behaviour apart from snoozing! The Red Pandas were fast
asleep for most of the time, though in full view – luckily they have a very interesting tree to
climb in, which would make a splendid addition to any artistic work.
The Clouded Leopards, of which I think there were 3, were mostly snuggled down on their
platforms, but at least one was walking about, and gave us a good view of their beautifully
patterned coat, amongst the foliage and tree trunks of their large enclosure.
A little flock of beautifully patterned Guinea Fowl were walking about freely on the path into
the Wolf Wood, making a noisy conversation with each other.
I caught glimpses of at least one Wolf, and further on, the Pallas’s cat was climbing around
the twiggy tree branches in its enclosure, making it very difficult to see its whole body at
once.
The gardens and planting all around the Park are always spectacular, and make a very
positive setting for the animals.
Sarais Crawshaw
TWASI Visit to Ryton Woods & Pools – Saturday 12th April
I’m new to TWASI, and this was my first group outing. We rendezvoused in the car park.
A small party – Chris & Barbara, Sarais, Sally, Lesley & Kev (and Finn the dog!) plus
Roland my husband, a keen birder and I.
It was a lovely warm spring day, & we saw orange-tip butterflies flying, and listened to
willow warblers, as we headed to the small pool. On our arrival there was some argy-bargy
from a swan, wings flapping and neck outstretched, which chased off a Canada Goose.
From the hide we watched “ducks-a-dabbling,up-tails-all”, as they inverted in search of
food, quite comical to watch. There were grebes, mallards and coots, plus several pairs of
Canadas, which looked to be sitting on eggs. On the other side of the small island we
spied a swan’s nest, no doubt the cause of the earlier commotion. I attempted a few quick
sketches, others got out their cameras, while some of us were content to simply soak in
the scene.
Next, we headed up into the woods. It was fun to walk and chat to fellow artists, to hear
their stories and get to know them a little. Ryton Woods boasts 100 acres of one of the
largest surviving ancient woodlands. It is famous for bluebells, sadly, we were a tad early
for them. However, the wood anemones were delightful, their pretty, white, star-like flowers
carpeting the woodland floor.
Over lunch back at the visitor centre, we shared images of our work and discussed who
was planning to enter the TWASI Annual Exhibition – only 4 weeks away! It will be my first
experience of this famous exhibition, and I’m looking forward to it, especially now that I’ve
met a few of the artists involved.
Shirley Cherry
TWASI Visit to Peak Wildlife Park, Staffordshire, March 2025
We had stayed in our caravan at Matlock overnight, and had a wonderful drive over
the hills to the Park.
It was a beautiful day but with a cold, strong North wind – being on top of the
Pennines there was very little shelter to stop it.
We wanted to see the Polar Bears in their excellent enclosure which gives them a
natural habitat, but it felt like the Arctic!
The bears were very sleepy in the morning but decided to wake up in the afternoon,
so I was able to get some good photos.
What I wasn’t expecting were the Arctic Foxes. I saw them burrowing down in the
earth mounds around their compound and I hope the fencing goes really deep or
they’ll be popping up somewhere unexpectedly.
Sarais wanted to see the Red Squirrels in their new enclosure where they will be
able to roam free. They are in there but have not been released yet from a holding
area. I hope Sarais got some good pictures as I got only one.
Later on we saw Red Pandas, Asian short-clawed otters and Sika deer. So now I
have plenty of material to produce my next pieces of work.
Rosemary Gowland
TWASI Get-Together at Slimbridge Wildfowl & Wetlands Reserve, January 2025
We had an enjoyable Get-Together to start off the year in January.
It was slightly foggy and rather chilly, but we were rewarded by an excellent show of birds
around the site, as well as spending plenty of time chatting and catching up.
Most of us managed to visit the tower hide overlooking the Severn Estuary, and the other
hides as well, watching birds including Common Crane, merlin, plover, lapwing, Canada,
Greylag and Barnacle Geese, four types of swans – Mute, Bewick, Whooper and even one
Black Swan, to Pintail and a multitude of other ducks.
The staff at Slimbridge are building several new areas of interest, using willow to build
structures around new viewing areas which will be complete later in the year.
Also on show was an excellent display in the Art Gallery, of the work of TWASI members
Valerie Briggs and John Horton, which is on until 12 th April – what an amazing body of
work they are both exhibiting.
Sarais Crawshaw
The Wildlife Art Society International 