Do you want to see some videos?

Our keepers blog seems to be going from strength to strength. I know many of you have now started looking at and sharing photos taken here on our Flickr group page, but would you also like to see some videos?

Let me know your thoughts...

As a taster, check out the video below




This is "Clyde" one of our male Pine Martens being hand fed by our Head Keeper.

Red Kite over BWC.

Red Kite (c) Andy Critchfield

Yesterday one of our Keepers, Louise, spotted a large bird of prey circling quite low over the Centre. We all rushed out to see it and it was a Red Kite!

We have had Red Kites visit us on a couple of occasions before but only during the Summer, and never as close as this one was.

The Kite was circling on the edge of our deer paddock and nature reserve literally only 100ft above the ground. She then dropped lower making us think it was going to land in the paddock before soaring up again in the air.
She continued to circle for a couple of minutes before heading of southwards.

Red Kite (c) Andy Critchfield

Unfortunately I still prefer to see things like this with my own eyes and so was in no rush to get my camera. The photographs above are courtesy of member and regular visitor to the Centre Andy Critchfield.

It is not the only unusual visitor we have to the Centre. Our nature reserve has attracted kites before in the past, snipe, last Summer an Osprey was spotted and for the past couple of weeks a pair of ravens have been regularly seen!

Water Shrews on display

A little later than scheduled but our Water Shrews are now out on display.

We have converted the corner pond in our "Hedgerow" section to make it escape proof for Water Shrews. They are not very good jumpers, but are very adept at climbing. Use of perspex stirps on the wall and strategically placed overhangs means that these fascinating creatures should remain in their new pen.

Unlike other shrews, Water Shrews are tolerant living together or in small groups. We have obtained 1 male and 1 female so who knows, they may even breed out there.

In time and when they have settled down I will look to put a feed platform out in the water similar to how we feed our Water Voles. If it works as well for the shrews as it did of the voles then we hope they will be seen swimming out and happily sitting in view if only for brief moments of time.

Water Shrews are the largest of the Shrew family in this country. They have very dark coloured fur on the top half of their body and white fur underneath. They even have little white eyebrows!!

We feed our shrews on a diet of cat food mixed with fly larvee, mealworms and oats. Of course there is plenty of larvee and bugs in the rotting wood in the enclosure which they are sure to tuck into too.