Top flight days out
JUST because it’s cold, and it might be raining or the wind howling, that’s no excuse to hibernate for the whole of winter.
And to help you blow away the cobwebs the Wetland and Wildlife Trust is, as always, organising loads of wonderful winter delights at its various centres across the UK.
The arrival of thousands of wild Bewick and Whooper swans from
Russia and Iceland and huge flocks of rare geese flying in make for amazing wildlife spectacles.
You’ll hear them before you see them and the WWT centres are the ideal place to witness the breathtaking sights, with comfortable, heated hides right in front of all the action.
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, and you can join regular wild swan and geese feeds, either in daylight or dramatically floodlit at night.
You might even be able to witness the art of catching wild ducks in a duck decoy demonstration using a specially trained dog. Once used for hunting, the decoy is now used to catch birds for conservation.
Kate Humble, WWT President, says: “An assembly of swans is one of our most moving wildlife pageants. The jostling family groups of snow-white adults and greyish cygnets have a mesmeric beauty, while the birds’ evocative bugling calls suit frosty weather to a tee.”
FOR more information about events near you, visit wwt.org.uk