Winter wonders
The chilly weather brings all sorts of exciting wildlife flocking to the UK
THERE are Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Centres across the UK and we often think they’re places to visit only in the spring or summer.
But you’d be amazed that while some of nature nods off in autumn and winter, there’s a lot that’s still wide awake!
There are loads of wildlife spectacles including swirling starling murmurations, the arrival of thousands of wild bewicks and whooper swans from Russia and Iceland and huge flocks of rare geese flying in to their overwintering grounds.
The sight of thousands of swans and geese arriving en masse to WWT reserves can be an unforgettable experience – you hear them before you see them – and WWT centres are the ideal place to witness them, with comfortable, heated hides where all the action is right in front of you at eye level.
Centres also run dawn and dusk events where visitors can marvel at the spectacle of thousands of winter birds gathering against beautiful early morning and evening skies, or join one of the regular wild swan and geese feeds, either in daylight or dramatically
floodlit at night.
Kate Humble, TV presenter and WWT Vice President, says: “An assembly of swans is one of our most moving wildlife pageants. The jostling family groups of snowwhite adults and greyish cygnets have a mesmeric beauty, while the birds’ evocative bugling calls suit frosty weather to a tee.”
If that isn’t enough, WWT Centres organise a host of events for the winter season from giant Top Trumps trails to paths guided by feathered friends made from LEGO and, of course, the man in the red suit usually calls to say ‘hello’.