I,d like to start this post with a big thankyou to East Devon District Council's environmental department for a wonderful day, all four of us were entertained throughout the day as well as our knowledge levels ever increasing. Definitely a good day out.
So what was it about? Well 3 days of various wildlife and nature orientated events set in the glorious surroundings of Seaton Marshes Nature Reserve - in Seaton if you were wondering! With Moth trapping, Bat walks, Bird Ringing and watching, bushcraft skills - Mel's Favourite, she is now definitely a fan of the nettle! Without a doubt the star of the show for my kids anyway was the pond dipping. The 3 year old stripped down and waded in - not necessarily advisable but an indictment of her willingness to get involved. The 7 year old could not be torn away under any circumstances, hats off to James Chubb for his patience and attentiveness to her continuous string of enquiries and presentations of "another" net full of creepy crawlies.
What was great to see was the sheer diversity of live around the pond site still for 5 minutes and look carefully at the stands of grass, thistle or fleabane and you will soon tune into the sights before you - Bush Crickets, Damselflies, Dragonflies, Bumble Bees, Drone flies of several types, several kinds of Beetle, innumerate other flying invertebrates that I can not list as I don't what they are!!! and of course a fair splattering of butterfly varieties. I'm told the area holds a fantastic array of birds, more than enough for any twitcher, unfortunately I was unable to take time to appreciate this but will be sure to try next time.
It's a place well worth visiting even if event is on and I will be sure to go back for a lone session of photography - Children can prove distracting when trying to get high quality shots, especially when they wave a wet pond net over your head at the crucial moment!
these piccys are quite cool!!!
ReplyDelete