[A]wesome oystercatchers and stunning sanderlings are just some of the wading birds that visit our coastline in huge numbers over autumn and winter. Come and celebrate this awe-inspiring sight at the Walney Wader Festival which is being held at South Walney Nature Reserve near Barrow on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October 2017 from 11.00am to 4.00pm.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust is running the free weekend festival to celebrate the magnificent winter wildlife found on South Walney and Foulney Island nature reserves. Festival organiser Isaac Johnston, Conservation Apprentice at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, says: “2016 was the first ever Walney Wader Festival, and we’ve decided to run it again as it was so popular last year! We are fortunate enough to host some amazing wildlife spectacles at our nature reserves, as migrating waders including knot and dunlin gather in huge numbers at this time of year. We have a packed weekend of activities for everyone, from beginners to keen birdwatchers. A highlight will be ‘Stranded on Foulney’, where you’ll be cut off on the island by the tide, so you can see the vast flocks of wading birds coming in to roost. It should be a really immersive, dramatic experience!”
There’ll also be a photography competition during the festival and the prize for the best wader photo is a Level 1 photography course, run by Jessops, worth £119.00. Submit your competition entries over the festival weekend, either by email or via Twitter or Facebook using #WaderComp. Other festival events include walks and talks, a Wader ID workshop for those new to birdwatching and a seal workshop, with a visit to South Walney’s striking new hides to view Cumbria’s only breeding colony of grey seals.
Find out more about Walney Wader Festival at www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk. Please note ‘Stranded on Foulney’ must be pre-booked but you can just turn up for any of the other events. Join in the conversation online at #WaderFest
