Creswell Crags offers bird-themed activities for half-term holiday

By Gay Bolton
Published 16th Feb 2023, 05:30 BST
The robin is a lovely sight in winter so encourage the species into your garden by putting up a bird feeder. Frozen ground and lack of fruit and insects to eat mean it’s harder for birds to get enough sustenance to help keep them warm and survive the cold weather at this time of year.The robin is a lovely sight in winter so encourage the species into your garden by putting up a bird feeder. Frozen ground and lack of fruit and insects to eat mean it’s harder for birds to get enough sustenance to help keep them warm and survive the cold weather at this time of year.
The robin is a lovely sight in winter so encourage the species into your garden by putting up a bird feeder. Frozen ground and lack of fruit and insects to eat mean it’s harder for birds to get enough sustenance to help keep them warm and survive the cold weather at this time of year.
Families are invited to events at Creswell Crags over the half-term holiday when they will discover what they can do at home to help nurture birds.

The Ice Age site is home to 80 species of birds, including robins, wrens, blackbirds and magpies which have been there for thousands of years.

Visitors can borrow binoculars from the reception to see what birds they can spot in the meadow, woodland and gorge. And families can pick up a copy of the Bird Trail to keep children entertained as they go.

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On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, children can make bird feeders to take home at Creswell Crags.

During the weekend of February 18 and 19 the Crags team will be instructing on the best design for bird boxes and families can make their own to take home. Bird boxes are an important addition to any garden as they provide habitats for birds when there might not be an alternative, this is especially the case in urban areas where there are few trees or hedges.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays there is an exclusive Bird Discovery Session, which is a must-do for all budding palaeontologists, or anyone interested in finding out the “inside story” on birds. See and handle real bird skeletons to understand how they have evolved and are able to fly, and watch an owl pellet dissection to find out what they eat and how that helps us to learn more about them. The Crags’s expert heritage facilitators will be on hand to answers lots of bird-related questions.

Expert ornithologist Jack Baddams will lead bird ringing sessions on February 26 and March 5. This is an opportunity to get up close and learn how to safely handle and release our feathered friends.

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Jim Anderson, senior ranger at Creswell Crags said, ‘We work hard at Creswell Crags to protect and enhance the natural environment here to create a wonderful habitat for so many species of birds. It’s a great chance this half term to share that with our visitors and to encourage them to look after the birds where they live and work too!’.

All information about the events can be found on the website: www.creswell-crags.org.uk