TV presenter’s nationwide nature quest will take him to Slimbridge Festival of Birds

Well-known TV personalities will be attending the Slimbridge Festival of Birds this weekend (26^th and 27^th)

The two day celebration of bird watching includes a host of speakers, shopping opportunities, bird ringing and mist netting demonstrations. There is also plenty for younger visitors including face painting, games and arts and crafts.

This year Mike Dilger, star of the One Show will be leading and taking part in some of the events on the Saturday as part of a nationwide tour to raise awareness and money for Wetlands.

Other highlights of the festival include daytime talks in the cinema by TV star Johnny Kingdom titled ‘My Life With Nature’,  Ed Drewitt on Peregrine Falcons and the intriguingly titled ‘Sex, Eggs and Videotapes’ by conservationist Geoff Hilton.  This talk is about the lengths people go to in order to save rare species of birds from extinction.

Welsh wildlife TV presenter Iolo Williams will be at the Festival on Sunday helping with activities and being one of many guides working in the hides over the two days picking out the best wildlife and offering advice to any bird watchers.

Visitors can also follow in the late Sir Peter Scott’s footprints at a drop-in sketching workshop in the Peng Observatory on Saturday studying swan bill patterns.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to shop to their heart’s content as the foyer of the Centre will be lined with stands selling everything from artwork and clothing to optics for birdwatching and wildlife trips.

All the daytime events are included in the normal cost of admission.

Mike Dilger’s quest will take in all nine Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) centres in just nine days, finishing on World Wetlands Day (2 February) at the London Wetland Centre at Barnes.

He is coming to Slimbridge on the second day of his tour and will be practicing feeding swans during the day ahead of him leading the floodlit feed in the evening.  The feed starting at 6.30pm is on the Rushy Lake. Tickets can be bought on the day of the Festival at £6 an adult and £4 a child (limited numbers).

He is also doing a ticketed evening talk which is now fully booked.

He will also be meeting any children taking part in the kids decoy demonstration on Saturday afternoon. This fun game involves children being caught and ringed like a duck so they can learn more about our research here at Slimbridge.

Speaking from the WWT headquarters at Slimbridge on the shores of the Severn Estuary, Mike said:

“Wetlands are amazing. At this time of year in the UK they are simply teeming with wildlife. So my mission is to encourage as many of you as possible to get outside and experience them for yourselves.

“And, as we build up to World Wetlands Day on 2 February, it is worth remembering that wetlands around the world and their wildlife are incredibly vulnerable. WWT works all around the world and is striving to secure a future for species such as the unique spoon-billed sandpiper, which has been driven to the brink of extinction by the misuse of wetlands on the other side of the world.”

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