Members Evening and Blog Update

"Little Tom with a Little Mouse" by Ingrid Nicholls

Date for your diaries... Saturday the 9th of July will be when our annual Members Evening takes place. A few of you have been asking when it will be this year, and wanting it to be announced earlier so you can make sure you are free to come along, and so with a little nagging I now have a date confirmed with the office.

So, Saturday the 9th of July. On this date members of the Centre will be able to stay on after our normal open hours until 8pm to see the animals in the evening. As per usual we will put on another couple of talks for you, and have the keepers walking around to show off some animals and answer questions.

A reminder and more news on this nearer the time, but until then don't forget to write it in your diaries, and maybe these pictures offer a clue of what to expect?!.. er, and maybe not... those that know me well now know I usually come up with the schedule the day before or morning of the evening.

The new look blog seems to be going down well. I have had a few criticisms with the larger photos, but overall most seem to be happy or non different to the new look. If some of you are wondering, what has changed? Well, that goes to show you very little... The widths of the blog have increased to display nicer on most modern screens, and the photos now appear larger to accompany the new widths and to make it easier for people to actually see the pictures without clicking on them.

I am very wary of not having this blog come across as a "photography" blog, and so don't want the photos to dominate the posts. But then also appreciate that people like to see photos of our animals, and how well known the BWC is as a venue to take photographs of British wildlife. I am hoping this new balance works. Have no fear, the news and updates on the animals and Centre will continue to be the focus of this blog!

So anything else new? The eagle-eyed of you may have seen there is now a search option under the blog archive on the right hand side. This will make it easier for you to find older posts on a particular animal or subject if you so wish. But that is it, no more plans for changes... except maybe an up to date photograph of myself to on the right :-)

Don't forget... Member Evening: Saturday 9th of July, 2016, 5pm - 8pm!

Welcome to Richard

Some of you may have recognised a familiar face at the Centre over the last few days...

Let me introduce you all to our new keeper, Richard. Rich has worked here in the past before heading off to pursue his call to go travelling. Realising now that he is getting on a bit, he has returned home to the UK to settle down. He has worked in other small collections for the past year, keeping his hand in with animal husbandry, but as soon as we were looking for a new keeper he was keen to return and his application was sent in.

I am sure Rich will settle in quickly, and it won't be long till it all comes flooding back and he is educating school children and helping photographers get their perfect shots! Keep an eye out for him around the site when you are here and say hello.

February Half Term

A quick reminder on this very cold and icy Monday morning that we are open to the general public every day this week for February half term. Moving in to our 'busy' season sees us now stay open until 5pm, and sees a return of our usual schedule of talks. Check these out under the "Keeper Talks" tab below the header at the top of this page.

Keep in mind that the best time to see the animals, and especially with this colder weather, is around the keeper talk times. So if there is something in particular you are hoping to glimpse then plan you visit to the times listed.

One exception to this are our otters! They seem to love the colder weather, and are often seen out playing in the water and chasing each other around the banks. If the low temperatures last long enough for some thick ice on their ponds, then you may well get to see them chase each other through the ice too! One runs on top while the other swims underneath... amazing fun to watch, and usually ending with the one on top crashing through when they find a thin patch.

Hope to see some of you here over the coming days.