Indoor meeting -
In a change to the advertised programme we welcomed Dr Kevin Elsby to talk about the wildlife of Kenya. Starting with a short course in Swahili the first word we learnt was the greeting 'Jambo' (hello). This was followed by a map of Kenya showing such famous names as the Masai Mara, the Rift Valley, Mount Kenya, Samburu, Amboseli and Tsavo. As to be expected there were lots of unusual birds such as the hammerkop with its huge nest, the colourful superb starling, the less than handsome lappets vulture contrasted with the stunning looking lilac breasted roller and the little bee eater. Particularly impressive were pictures of hundreds of thousands flamingoes on lake Nakuru in the Rift Valley. No presentation about Africa would be complete without a look at the animals of the area, the timid Thompson's gazelle contrasted with the graceful cats and the cute looking, but very dangerous, water buffalo and hippo. Plenty of odd facts and survival tips such as, when confronted by a cheetah the best strategy is to stand still since they only like moving targets. Not sure I go along with that but, not having many cheetahs in Costessey I have yet to put this to the test. The talk finished with 'Kwa heri', which is goodbye in Swahili, if my notes are accurate.
Lots of other activities in May, we had a stand at the 'Wild about the Wensum' fair at Pensthorpe, as always, a brilliant success and we also flew the flag at the grand opening of the Costessey Community Centre which attracted well over a thousand people. Going farther afield, 16 members went to Scotland for a week, staying at Grantown on Spey where they visited the Cairngorms, Lock Garten and Tulloch Moor. Finally we had an excellent turnout for our Dawn Chorus at Lyng, finishing with sizzling bacon baps which more than made up for the less than perfect weather.
Dates for July:
Our Summer Social on the 15th, which is a get together and BBQ at Weston Longville Village Hall and our annual visit to Minsmere on the 25th which usually consists of a morning and afternoon walk with a visit to the RSPB café for lunch if required. Note there is a charge to enter the RSPB reserve.
Colin Wright [01603 740548] www.wvbs.co.uk
