February Update

We are still here, still in lockdown, but with a tentative date of when we will be able to open to the public once again. Last week the government announced their roadmap out of lockdown, and when certain restrictions will be lifted. All going to plan, and with no further setbacks, it seems that animal collections such as ourselves will be able to open our doors from the 12th of April!

Great news!.. Not as soon as we had hoped, and we will miss a large part of our Easter opening, but at least a date we can look forward to and plan for.

In the meantime life goes on here and the animals are still being looked after to all the high standards they are used too. The squirrels have been chasing each other around the copse, so I think kittens will not be too far off, the wild herons on the reserve will soon have their chicks and would you believe we have already seen our first adder out for the year.

Perhaps the biggest thing is the increase in "wild" wildlife activity. During the first lockdown last year we saw an increase in sightings of our wildlife around the Centre and on our reserve, mainly bird life. This lockdown has been no different, but I would say the biggest increase has been in the mammals!.. Maybe the colder weather has contributed to this too. Lot's of wild roe, foxes, stoats and weasels.

Here are a couple more photos from during the small amount of snow we had a few weeks a go. 

 

BWC in the Snow

 

As with many areas of the country, we had some snow fall over the past week... but not as much as we were predicted and not as much as areas not too far from us. Still, when there is snow around it is always nice to get out with the camera. 

With lockdown still in full flow, and staffing reduced, it left little time to take pictures... but I did manage to find some time to take a few quick snaps.

Nearly a week since the first signs of snow, and already it has almost all gone. The bellow zero temperatures for the last few days though has frozen our otter ponds! The otters love this... running on the ice, crashing through it from above or below, and chasing each other with one swimming under while the other follows above!