W is for ... Wetlands Open Day

I am not sure what they did down Newport Wetlands on the Saturday night, but I can only assume they sacrificed something to the rain gods, as, by and large, the sun shone on their open day!

We down at the reserve by ten o clockish, and we sat outside by the coffee shop in the sunshine, you could almost be fooled into thinking it was summer for a while!

We had a look at the various stands and had a chat to the various people there. We learned that it is not just the birds that have had a rough time of it in this apology for a season, but hedgehogs too. They simply can't keep warm if they are constantly getting soaked. They can suffer from hypothermia at temperatures as high as seventeen to nineteen degrees. They are in the middle of the breeding season right now too, and the little 'uns fair even worse if their dens are waterlogged. It really is a testing time for all our wildlife.

Our good friend Nigel (Barman Blips) turned up and we had a wander around the reserve for an hour or so. I alas could not a photo of a Bearded Tit like he did last week. We did get caught in a terrific shower which drenched us on the way back to the visitor center, which meant I could not take a photo of the picnic area with all the stalls on it. Instead you got this beastie!

This is a Great Diving Beetle Larvae, and it was wandering across the path as we walking around the environs of the reserve. You must admit it may not win many beauty contests, but it looks like a formidable predator!

Okay I could have gone for something cuter like this Little Grebe griblet (I have no idea what baby grebes are called so I have given them my own name!).

Frustratingly this Goodyear Blimp flew over the reserve three weeks to early for the Z week of the alphaponty challenge!

X week starts next week for that particular challenge. It is going to be interesting to see what people come up with!