Birds, Voles and Schools

This was not the standard Monday morning; I had very little time in the office doing the usual Monday morning routine and busied myself with getting ready for a school education visit by Queen Mary’s School, Thirsk. This was the first visit by the school to the reserve.
The first activity featured birds. While I gave a general presentation on our feathered friends, Stacey and Jenny set up a mist net in the garden in readiness for giving a bird ringing demonstration to the small group of 14. With the birds extracted from the net we were able to show the girls a number of Siskins, Chaffinches, and Blue Tits. The joy on the faces of these young people of being able to get up close to these beautiful birds made all the preparation worth it, and I am sure the memory of this will stay with these young girls way into adulthood, hopefully we have sown a seed for a future Foxglove Covert Reserve Manager.

Below, one of the juvenile male Siskins.

It was not just the children who enjoyed themselves; the teachers themselves also appreciated their time here.

During the habitat walk I set up the bird spotting scope in the Wetland Hide where the Water Voles were seen close-up, and also having another little territorial fight with another Water Vole for the freshly put out apples. The Dexter cows were grazing nearby oblivious to the voles interaction.

With the beginning of Autumn yesterday the weather felt cooler, and the flower meadow devoid of flowers seemed to underline that summer was at an end. However, there is still Scabious and Fleabane about, amongst others.