Out & About May 2017

One good tern...

The birds are returning after their winter migration and a band of volunteers with the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust have been busy sprucing up their nesting places says WENDY TOBITT

W e’re welcoming back the sea-swallows to the Nature Discovery Centre, along with the cuckoos, reed warblers and sand martins. Sea-swallow is the affectionate name for the common tern, an elegant and graceful bird with a bright red bill and legs, black cap and long tail feathers.

During the year, grasses and other plants grow in the gravel. Just before the terns come back in April we remove the weeds and clean the gravel, so it’s ready for nesting when the terns fly in. The work to spring clean the rafts and lots of other jobs to keep the Nature Discovery Centre in excellent condition for visiting wildlife and people is carried out by our monthly work party. They meet on the second Thursday of each month. No previous experience is necessary, just lots of enthusiasm to be working outdoors. To join this friendly group contact: wbll@bbowt.org.uk Spring-cleaning is more than a seasonal task for the happy band of keen volunteers. They’ve been clearing paths and tracks to make sure everything is in good condition for visitors. One of the recent additions to the Butterfly Lake is a pond-dipping platform, which is being used just about every day from April right through the summer, by children and families from the different clubs and groups that visit the Nature Discovery Centre. The monthly Nature Explorers club for young children (5-8 years) and their parents is a very popular outdoor play session. Young Rangers (8-12 years) meet every two weeks on a Tuesday throughout the year. Lots of fun, wildlife-themed games and activities, such as animal tracking and making dens, help children discover the world of nature all around them.

Teen Rangers, for 12 to 18-year-olds gives enthusiastic young conservationists the chance to help look after the wild places around the Nature Discovery Centre and other BBOWT nature reserves, learning the skills they need to become wildlife warriors.

These gulls have just arrived back at the Nature Discovery Centre in Thatcham after winter spent in western Africa, and will be pleased to find their rafts have been spring cleaned. Common terns like to nest on open ground, which makes them highly vulnerable to predators such as foxes. At BBOWT we have created special rafts on the lake at the Nature Discovery Centre, and also Hosehill Lake near Theale, to give the terns a fighting chance to raise their broods.

YOUR MAY DIARY

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THESE EVENTS www.bbowt.org.uk/whats-on

• Tuesday, May 16, 9.30am to 11.30am Linking the Landscape Nature Tots. Bring your pre-school little ones for a fun morning of bug-hunting and mud-painting. • Saturday, May 20, 10am to 12 noon Nature Explorers Club for 5-8 year olds with their parents. Hands-on wildlife crafts and child-led activities.

• Wednesday, May 31, 8pm to 10pm May Evening Safari. Crafts, games and bats. Meet bat expert Dave Endacott to learn about the bats that live around the Nature Discovery Centre, use bat detectors to hear their squeaking, squirting sounds.

Pictures: Ben Vanheems, Emma Bradshaw, Margaret Holland

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