I have been a member of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust for around 18 months now, and visiting the flagship reserve in Slimbridge is something I've always wanted to do. The festival of birds weekend was taking place, along with floodlit swan feeds, so now was a great time to visit.
As soon as we approached the centre we could see a flurry of activity, flocks of swans, geese and ducks all flew overhead whilst excited visitors pointed to the air. As we walked into the centre the hussle and bustle of chatter greeted us, with an array of stalls selling a variety of items, from artwork to binoculars.
Within the centre there was an amphibian exhibit, from toads to frogs and even newts, it was great to get a glimpse of these animals up close and provides a fantastic oppotunity for educating children.
Outside the visitor centre you are immediately greeted with a colourful array of wildfowl; mute swans, mandarin ducks, mallards, coots, moorhens, tufted ducks and greylag geese just to name a few. They happily wander alongside you and eagerly eye your hands in search of feed. In one area you could get up close and personal with these beautiful birds, with the swans towering high above children, greedily gobbling any feed that was offered.
Continuing around the site you discover a whole host of feathered friends, they have an extensive range of non-native birds for both conservation and educational purposes and the most impressive is their huge collection and variety of the curious flamingo.
The WWT Slimbridge is the only place in the world where you can see all 6 species of flamingo. They have a fantstic viewing observatory that is actually sunken down to water level so you can get a unique look right through the legs of a flamingo. They have built and created mud nests, visible at eye level, in hope of encouraging them to breed. This new enclosure provides a fantatic opportunity to study these intriguing birds and to help understand flamingo behaviour even further so we can inform and improve ongoing conservation strategies all around the world.
Feathers aren't all you can find at Slimbridge, as mammals are also a vital part of a wetland. They have a collection of resident furries, including water voles, harvest mice, beavers and otters. They hold a daily otter talk, where you get to meet the three little ladies, Flo, Minnie and Ha Ha. They are North American river otters full of character and mischief and it was great to watch them bounding around, climbing trees and creating a splash.
As you move around the site, you gather your own following, a gaggle of geese! They can immediately identify the rustle of that familiar paper bag and know the treasure that lies within, feed! As soon as it emerges from a bag or pocket you are surrounded by an enormous variety of geese; bar headed, red-breasted, white-fronted, and nene, the rarest goose in the world. Compared to the swans that almost take off your fingers when feeding these geese are incredible gentle, and it was a real pleasure to be able to get so close to them.
Slimbridge has a large number of hides over looking a vast area of wetlands, its a great spot to watch for wild and rare visitors. Over the weekend the secretive bittern was spotted, but sadly I didnt get a glimpse. I did manage to get some great sightings and identified teal, shoveler, shelduck, buzzard, little egret, cormorant, pintail and canada goose.
The highlight of the visit was definitely the wild bird feeds. It was simply jaw dropping to see the huge amount of swans and geese all in one spot. We witnessed two of these, firstly during the day, which was a large mix of ducks, geese and swans all bustling and jostling around as the wheelbarrow overflowing with feed came round.
Second was the night feed. It was truly magical. A vast blanket of moving white feathers under the night sky, lit up with floodlights. Berwicks swan. Myself and my boyfriend were the only two people that showed for this feed so the ranger took us to a different viewing area where we got closer to the birds. It was simply incredible, and you really have to see it to believe it.
The WWT Slimbridge is a breathtaking site, and I thoroughly recommend visiting if you have a passion for birds. I feel proud to be a member of such a fabulous charity and know my donation is making an impact.
As soon as we approached the centre we could see a flurry of activity, flocks of swans, geese and ducks all flew overhead whilst excited visitors pointed to the air. As we walked into the centre the hussle and bustle of chatter greeted us, with an array of stalls selling a variety of items, from artwork to binoculars.
Within the centre there was an amphibian exhibit, from toads to frogs and even newts, it was great to get a glimpse of these animals up close and provides a fantastic oppotunity for educating children.
Outside the visitor centre you are immediately greeted with a colourful array of wildfowl; mute swans, mandarin ducks, mallards, coots, moorhens, tufted ducks and greylag geese just to name a few. They happily wander alongside you and eagerly eye your hands in search of feed. In one area you could get up close and personal with these beautiful birds, with the swans towering high above children, greedily gobbling any feed that was offered.
Continuing around the site you discover a whole host of feathered friends, they have an extensive range of non-native birds for both conservation and educational purposes and the most impressive is their huge collection and variety of the curious flamingo.
The WWT Slimbridge is the only place in the world where you can see all 6 species of flamingo. They have a fantstic viewing observatory that is actually sunken down to water level so you can get a unique look right through the legs of a flamingo. They have built and created mud nests, visible at eye level, in hope of encouraging them to breed. This new enclosure provides a fantatic opportunity to study these intriguing birds and to help understand flamingo behaviour even further so we can inform and improve ongoing conservation strategies all around the world.
Feathers aren't all you can find at Slimbridge, as mammals are also a vital part of a wetland. They have a collection of resident furries, including water voles, harvest mice, beavers and otters. They hold a daily otter talk, where you get to meet the three little ladies, Flo, Minnie and Ha Ha. They are North American river otters full of character and mischief and it was great to watch them bounding around, climbing trees and creating a splash.
As you move around the site, you gather your own following, a gaggle of geese! They can immediately identify the rustle of that familiar paper bag and know the treasure that lies within, feed! As soon as it emerges from a bag or pocket you are surrounded by an enormous variety of geese; bar headed, red-breasted, white-fronted, and nene, the rarest goose in the world. Compared to the swans that almost take off your fingers when feeding these geese are incredible gentle, and it was a real pleasure to be able to get so close to them.
Slimbridge has a large number of hides over looking a vast area of wetlands, its a great spot to watch for wild and rare visitors. Over the weekend the secretive bittern was spotted, but sadly I didnt get a glimpse. I did manage to get some great sightings and identified teal, shoveler, shelduck, buzzard, little egret, cormorant, pintail and canada goose.
The highlight of the visit was definitely the wild bird feeds. It was simply jaw dropping to see the huge amount of swans and geese all in one spot. We witnessed two of these, firstly during the day, which was a large mix of ducks, geese and swans all bustling and jostling around as the wheelbarrow overflowing with feed came round.
Second was the night feed. It was truly magical. A vast blanket of moving white feathers under the night sky, lit up with floodlights. Berwicks swan. Myself and my boyfriend were the only two people that showed for this feed so the ranger took us to a different viewing area where we got closer to the birds. It was simply incredible, and you really have to see it to believe it.
The WWT Slimbridge is a breathtaking site, and I thoroughly recommend visiting if you have a passion for birds. I feel proud to be a member of such a fabulous charity and know my donation is making an impact.
