The Great West Bird Fair at The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Slimbridge soared into action when TV presenter Philippa Forrester declared it open officially, kicking off a whole series of activities for all the family. Philippa's fans were in a flap as the star of 'Zoo Watch', 'Tomorrow's World' and 'Robot Wars' took to the microphone and got the event off to a flying start. Philippa and her children are regular visitors to Slimbridge. She said: "I can bring the family so easily and everything is accessible. Every time we come we have a good time; they learn something and I learn something." Exclusive interview BBC Radio Gloucestershire was there too with Trish Campbell and Brian Bailey hosting a special two-hour edition of 'Country Matters'. The programme featured an exclusive interview with another Philippa; Lady Scott whose husband, Sir Peter, founded the original Severn Wildfowl Trust in 1946.  Every time we come we have a good time; they learn something and I learn something. | | Philippa Forrester |
Even after nearly 60 years, Lady Scott is optimistic about the future of the Trust; "There's always more you can do and there's no lack of ideas. There's lots of outreach we can do; our education programme could grow, our research programme could grow
there's no end to the things we could do," she said. Packed programme From dawn until dusk visitors to the Great West Bird Fair got stuck in to all things avian, from Breakfast with the Birds at 6.30am to Floodlit Swan Feeds at 6pm and a packed programme in between. Slimbridge is known world-wide for its conservation work and special Threatened Species Tours of the grounds revealed the plight of many of the worlds waterfowl. This years theme was the Red-breasted Goose, the words smallest and most colourful goose. Sadly, it is in grave danger and Dr Baz Hughes gave the inside track on what WWT is doing to help. Slimbridge is synonymous with Bewicks Swans which migrate from Arctic Russia each year and a team of WWT swan researchers were on hand to reveal the secrets of these stunning winter visitors. Majestic birds Afternoon and Floodlit Swan Feeds were popular with people eager to see these majestic birds feeding just feet from the window of the Peng Observatory. | There's always more you can do and there's no lack of ideas. There's lots of outreach we can do. | | Lady Scott |
Guest speakers regaled visitors with tales of Birds in the Baltic, the Species of South West Cape Province and the Islands of Britain while visitors with a creative streak joined artist, Trevor Smith, for a lesson in sketching Winter Wildfowl. Meanwhile heats of the quiz "A Question on Birds" took place on both days with teams of expert birders pitting their wits against each other in fast-paced, knock-out rounds. Bird paraphernalia All the Bird Fair events were complemented by trade stalls from wildlife artists to bird food suppliers, outdoor clothing specialists to wood carvers and all manner of bird paraphernalia. Watch this space for news of the Great West Bird Fair 2006 !!
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TV presenter Philippa Forrester opened The Great West Bird Fair at The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in Gloucestershire at the weekend.
