Walk with a Warden day success.
Every year I hold a Walk with a Warden event where we collect, ring and mark the juvenile Nenes for future breeding, and this year was no exception. Great thanks to the 9 intrepid helpers who booked up. We were blessed with sunshine, but not with luck. The whole group handled a menagerie of wriggling Nene babes but remained entirely poo free (a virtual miracle) until a passing gull left a small present behind. 21 juvenile Nene passed through our hands, but every year a few slip through the net. The photo below shows intrepid 9 year old AXU, who despite losing her male in the middle of the season has successfully reared her three goslings into prime Nene specimens. In addition, my old friends ALT and ALH, both clocking at 17 years of age(!) managed to escape the Ivomec net and did not receive their 2011 medication. We will have to keep an eye out for an oppotunistic moment...
4 pretty pairs of juveniles made their way back into the grounds on the afternoon of the 22nd October, so keep an eye out for darvics beginning BH-!
If you are an active Slimbridge fan who fancies getting involved behind the scenes, contact our bookings officer Eleanor Wise for 2012 dates.
