When I booked my ticket for Slimbridge WWT centre for the first day of opening since the latest lockdown, the forecast looked mainly sunny with a gentle breeze. This morning I woke up to heavy snow falling! However, it didn't settle and I decided that even a cloudy day at Slimbridge would be a nice day out.
I arrived soon after 9.45 am, well within my allocated time slot of 930 to 10.00 and the sun was shining! What's more , it looked like being quite a nice day, albeit a bit chilly.
The hides, sadly, are not yet open, due to Covid restrictions, but the staff at Slimbridge have done a great job to compensate and allow as much wildlife watching as is possible. The top of the Estuary tower is open air and they have also built a screen at ground level just in front of it. The summer walkway is also open earlier than usually, allowing you to get closer to the estuary. I did notice that it looked as if after a few days it could be rather muddy, unless we have some warm weather to dry it out. I joined the half a dozen or so birders on the top floor though felt a little out of place as I had no telescope to set up along side everyone else's!
It was ideal conditions, so I was told, for osprey to pass through, but although I waited, none appeared! There were other birds to be seen ,however, albeit distant, including cranes, buzzard, peregrine, shelduck, curlew and various geese.
I made my way to the opposite end of the ground; evidence of the beginning of the breeding season was provided by a pair of mallards and their brood of ducklings, also some greylag geese with two goslings. There were also two coots sitting on nests. Despite using a makeshift viewing area on the back of a trailer, all was quiet there too, I then checked my phone for Slimbridge sightings and found that there had been a viewing area made next to the Rushy pen by removing some panels in a fence. However, when I checked it out a bit later, the little ringed plover, common sandpiper and avocet recorded there, were nowhere to be seen!
It was nice to be visiting Slimbridge once again, even though the number of sightings was rather less than I hoped.
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