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The
Great West Bird Fair at The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT),
Slimbridge soared into action when TV presenter Philippa Forrester
declared it open officially, kicking off a whole series of activities
for all the family.
Philippa's
fans were in a flap as the star of 'Zoo Watch', 'Tomorrow's World'
and 'Robot Wars' took to the microphone and got the event off to
a flying start.
Philippa
and her children are regular visitors to Slimbridge. She said: "I
can bring the family so easily and everything is accessible. Every
time we come we have a good time; they learn something and I learn
something."
Exclusive
interview
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Radio Gloucestershire was there too with Trish Campbell and Brian
Bailey hosting a special two-hour edition of 'Country Matters'.
The
programme featured an exclusive interview with another Philippa;
Lady Scott whose husband, Sir Peter, founded the original Severn
Wildfowl Trust in 1946.
Every
time we come we have a good time; they learn something and I
learn something. |
| Philippa
Forrester |
Even
after nearly 60 years, Lady Scott is optimistic about the future
of the Trust; "There's always more you can do and there's no
lack of ideas. There's lots of outreach we can do; our education
programme could grow, our research programme could growÂ… there's
no end to the things we could do," she said.
Packed
programme
From
dawn until dusk visitors to the Great West Bird Fair got stuck in
to all things avian, from Breakfast with the Birds at 6.30am to
Floodlit Swan Feeds at 6pm and a packed programme in between.
Slimbridge
is known world-wide for its conservation work and special Threatened
Species Tours of the grounds revealed the plight of many of the
worldÂ’s waterfowl.
This
yearÂ’s theme was the Red-breasted Goose, the wordÂ’s smallest
and most colourful goose. Sadly, it is in grave danger and Dr Baz
Hughes gave the inside track on what WWT is doing to help.
Slimbridge
is synonymous with BewickÂ’s Swans which migrate from Arctic
Russia each year and a team of WWT swan researchers were on hand
to reveal the secrets of these stunning winter visitors.
Majestic
birds
Afternoon
and Floodlit Swan Feeds were popular with people eager to see these
majestic birds feeding just feet from the window of the Peng Observatory.
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There's
always more you can do and there's no lack of ideas. There's
lots of outreach we can do. |
| Lady
Scott |
Guest
speakers regaled visitors with tales of Birds in the Baltic, the
Species of South West Cape Province and the Islands of Britain while
visitors with a creative streak joined artist, Trevor Smith, for
a lesson in sketching Winter Wildfowl.
Meanwhile
heats of the quiz "A Question on Birds" took place on
both days with teams of expert birders pitting their wits against
each other in fast-paced, knock-out rounds.
Bird
paraphernalia
All
the Bird Fair events were complemented by trade stalls from wildlife
artists to bird food suppliers, outdoor clothing specialists to
wood carvers and all manner of bird paraphernalia.
Watch
this space for news of the Great West Bird Fair 2006 !!
(Gallery 1: 20 photos)
(Gallery 2: 20 photos)
(Gallery 3: 13 photos)
AUDIO
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TV presenter Philippa Forrester opened The Great West Bird Fair at
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in Gloucestershire at the weekend.
