Coach trip to Slimbridge

If you haven't been to Slimbridge yet I can highly recommend it for a lovely day out with the family and especially if you like birds. Brian and I had a coach trip there on Sunday May 24th and had a really lovely time. So many different birds to see and take photos of so plan to spend the whole day. One thing I recommend you do is use sunscreen and take a hat. I got a bit of a sunburn on the top of my head, which was painful for a week or so when I would try to comb or brush my hair. Here are just a few of the lovely birds we had a chance to see....

Black swan

Wood Pigeon acting like a duck. I have never seen so many wood pigeons before in one place!!!

Ohhhhh Just let me sleep, please!!

Red Crested Pochard... These guys remind me of Teddy boys.

Golden eye.

Pintail

Shell Duck

Smews.... What's smew with you??

Besides corny jokes you also get drama!!! This drake really ticked off this female duck and she was gonna show him who was boss....

I think he had as much as he could take and it all ended with her running off into the shade scream quacking with him in hot pursuit.

This chap is a Demoisella Crane.

Who did a bit of a dance for us.

There are also beautiful flowers dotted around the grounds.

This fellow is being tracked. There were a few there with these devices attached to their backs.

I can't remember the name of this one but she/he is soooo cute.

Another common bird that was all over the place were the Rooks. This is my best ever photo of a Rook. So inquisitive and on the BBC they were commenting on the intelligence of these Birds.

I love these yellow flags!!! And they are growing all over along with other plants for birds to use and hide in.

Sorry this photo isn't much clearer, but they are rather tiny birds and I did have my telephoto lens maxed out. The lovely Kingfisher is the one Bird that Brian really wanted to see and we were lucky to not just see the one, but we saw two. The dark hole on the bank is their nest.

Now I have heard of pecking order and such, but this moorhen is actually bowing to the other one. And didn't raise up until the other one acknowledge him by giving him a peck on the cheek. First time we ever witnessed anything like this.

Well I kept the x rated bit off by showing the dance after this pair did the deed. These are Britain's smallest and rarest swans the Bewick's Swan.

And these little guys have such a fascinating call. And supposedly have the softest down of all birds The Eider. When they make their calls it isn't a wonder they all aren't running around with little neck collars for whiplash.

I always need to take these guys photos.... The little Mandarin ducks.

And last but not least the flamingos. There are a few different species here and it looks like they are so well adjusted here in the UK that they are breeding and building nests. I would love to visit when the babies hatch out sometime. There were loads of kids here enjoying the birds and folks of all ages, a great place to take the family. So if you are looking for a lovely day out.... You definitely need to have a trip to Slimbridge.