And because nothing was booked in we decided to make a day of it at Arundel Wetlands. Despite visiting once a month for the last few months, we're always on a tight schedule and rarely get to wonder at our own pace. The forecast was brightening late morning and sure enough it was bang on.
We headed straight for the Wetland Discovery boat safari and low and behold, Monica, the boys' tutor was at the helm. With only one other family onboard we learnt more from Monica as we enjoyed a gentle breeze through the reeds in search of water voles and toads. Nath must have eyes like a hawk because he spotted some mating toads tucked inside the reeds; even when he pointed them out I still couldn't see them, but slowly more and more pairs and toad spawn became evident.
We chatted with Monica briefly after the trip and asked her about our missing information on the Bewick's swans and discovered that we hadn't missed the willow weaving at the first session because they'd run out of time. She asked how the reed seeds were coming along and we had to confess to only one success story...so far.
Just before we left we had the opportunity to watch a member of staff feed the diving ducks in the Icelandic pen and listened to her talk about the various breeds and how endangered birds', like the Scaly-sided Merganser, eggs are taken to Slimbridge for incubating.
Connor took his camcorder along and filmed the Scoters dancing and displays, full of the joys of spring; I anticipate a funny video as a result!
Otherwise it was a general wander round, with a few pit stops in the hides and of course a play on the equipment for the boys to blast out some of their energy. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day - the sun helped!
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| Summer Snowflake and a pair of Mandarin ducks |
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| The Scaly-sided Merganser, Long Tailed Duck and Eurasian Common Scoter |
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| Blue Tits, Coal Tits and a Robin |
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