A Wet Land by a Slim Bridge

A spoonbill sifting through the water.

My interest in birds was mild until my first visit to Slimbridge Wetland Centre last year. Ducklings, goslings, and the other baby birds waddling around their habitats on a bright summer’s day were adorable sights.

The menagerie of wildlife I’d never encountered before made me desperate to return when I had a telephoto lens to properly capture them. So, on a drizzly winter Sunday with little else to do, my partner and I visited again. The lighting couldn’t be more different, but the atmosphere was still fantastic. Enthusiastic twitchers and families stomped around in their waterproofs and wellies until they approached the birds. The splashes and screams of small children gave way to quiet, considerate curiosity as they marvelled at the exotic avians pottering about their enclosures.

There was a wonderful variety of creatures to learn about. Egrets, plovers, mandarin ducks, and bar-headed geese alongside more common chaffinches, tits, oystercatchers, and swans. My long zoom lent itself to some crisp shots, resolving so much more detail than I could hope to get with my phone. Enjoy the photos below, and go support your local wetland!