Animals

Crafts I completed whilst I was at home!

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I took a trip back home in the middle of January and with so many craft supplies available to me to create I thought I would make loads, but I did not, I was so busy I hardly made anything. I had so many plans for different crafty make but didn’t end up doing any of them really as I had an assignment I needed to concentrate on.

I did manage to squeeze in a little bit of craft time though and I made a Unicorn and bee themed birthday card using Lawn Fawn stamps!

I demoulded some resin keyrings that I started a while back, I enjoyed demoulding them and I am really happy with how they turned out, the only down side is that I didn’t get a chance to finish them before I left again so that is a future Megan’s project.

I also jumped on the bandwagon and got myself some of the viral miniverse makes mini foods craft kits and made two of them! I had a café series 2 and a diner series 2, for those that don’t know what they are they are resin craft kits to make a miniature food, and we all know I love a miniature (if you don’t then check out my etsy shop!)

As you all know I have been really into graphic digital drawing recently and whilst I was at home I was able to fish three different designs. I drew a leopard gecko, a bear, snow leopard and a Miliatary Macaw and each is available my redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Meggie-moos/shop?asc=u

I ended up going on so many adventures with my friends and family that I didn’t end up crafting as much as I thought I would, I still had a really great time though and I am happy with what I got done and have been able to plan lots more creations to make when I am back in Wales!

Thanks for reading!

Meg!

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch

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This year I signed up to complete one hour of birdwatching in my garden to assist the RSPB with their big garden bird watch. To be able to take part you can sign up online just before and you get sent an information pack on what to expect. You can choose to do it in your garden or from a balcony etc… but the rules come from the RSPB themselves. I chose to do it in my garden whilst I was visiting home (as it happened to fall on that weekend) and we all sat with a nice cup of tea, my mum had her binoculars and I had my camera and we sat for an hour in hopes that something would come down.

I have a video over on my Youtube of my (fairly) unsuccessful bird watch: https://youtu.be/ZWhMYMVH0Ew

I like to take part in the RSPBs big garden birdwatch as it allows us to participate in research into what birds we are getting locally and it helps to keep an eye on garden bird numbers.

Overall we got 1 crow, a couple of feral pigeons, a couple of wood pigeons and we could hear a robin in the tree somewhere but it didn’t count unfortunately.

I did manage to get a few photos but it was a very grey and overcast day and the lighting was weird and with only a handful of birds actually landing in the garden it was slim pickings for me to photograph this time round.

Anyway, I did enjoy my time watching the birds, hopefully next year I might be able to get a few more land in the garden. I will continue to go out and about and photograph the birds and as it comes into summer I plan to do lots more adventuring over to Anglesey!

Thanks for reading!

Meg.

RSPB Rainham Marshes

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When I went home at the end of January, I went on a trip over to Rainham Marshes with my family. This is a RSPB site on the shore of the Thames. If you go along the sea wall you can often spot seals and different wading birds but we stayed within the site of the RSPB and went for a walk around.

I took my camera and we wandered around, we actually started with a chat drink in the cafe before heading off and wandering around the grounds. We went straight to one of the hide and we were immediately greeted by a female kestrel sitting right on a post in front of the hide, I managed to get some really nice pictures and videos of the kestrel hop close, its just a shame the metal posts and electric fencing was in the way.

As we carried on round we saw coots and moorhens and out of the corner of my eye I saw a kingfisher, it was just a shame that I lost it, but I am still really happy that I saw one, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse as it was on my list for the day.

We carried on walking around the site, at the back of the site I was hoping to see a marsh harrier but on this occasion we were unlucky, we did see some carrion crows and got another glimpse of the kestrel.

The boardwalk was closed and this is where I normally see water voles and frogs, but I think it would have been too cold for them even if they were out.

There were lots of ducks around and as we headed back to the café we saw long tailed tits, great tits, blue tits, robins and some redwings. We got back to the café and had another drink whist we watched the sunset and the starlings form their murmuration’s and then we headed home before the car park closed.

It was so lovely being outside and in the fresh air and just wandering around the site. I hope that next time I visit there will be more to see as it will probably be spring by then.

Thanks for reading,

Meg!

Conwy Water Gardens

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We had headed over to the water gardens as my house mate had recommended the pancake house there. After a quick google it showed there would be different animals, a nice walk and of corse pancakes!

I dove us all over there and it was a pleasant drive through some country lanes and only about 30 minutes from where I live. I was little bit disappointed once we got there though as they were having work done and some of the animals such as the otters and the capybara had been relocated for the time being.

We went into the pancake house forest, only me and my sister ate as my parents had got food at the B&B they were staying at over on Anglesey.

I got a bacon and maple syrup pancake and it was amazing, the service was great and it was a cute little traditional Dutch place. There was also an aquatics/reptile shop there and a pond filled with koi fish which were really cool!

We had a wander around the grounds, there is a big fishing lake there which had some ducks on it, there were some little birds flitting around in the trees and there were some wild ducks on the ponds and as we had got duck food we were feeding them.

There were also ducks in an enclosure that we got to see , it was a bit of a sad enclosure though!

It was a nice walk in the fresh air though, and food was extra good!

Thanks for reading!

Meg!

Chester Zoo

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On this occasion my trip to Chester zoo was only a couple of hours as we had lunch plans with a family member. We had gone over to the zoo with the intention of spending a few hours seeing all the animals but due to the size of the zoo we only managed to see a small amount as we had to leave after 2.5 hours.

We still had a really great time and saw so many different animals but being a zookeeper I end up getting distracted and watching the animals for extended periods and so I ended up slowing down our group as I just want to watch all the animals and get the best photos that I can.

The first thing we saw were the elephant, because who can miss them so close to the entrance. I love seeing the hi-way family even if I don’t really take many photos of them. They are so much fun to watch and the youngster are just so sweet.

We then headed over towards the lions and we stopped into the butterfly house on the way, my camera completely fogged up which was totally unhelpful but I did get some nice pictures on my phone.

We then headed around to the jaguars and I stayed and watched them for ages. It was fascinating watching Napo as he called out whilst he was in the inside enclosure.

We headed around and saw the orangutans before heading back towards the entrance briefly stopping off to see the rhinos.

Overall we had a really nice few hours and I cannot wait for my upcoming trip, this time I will get to spend the whole day there though!

Thanks for reading!

Meg!

Finally Seeing the Dolphins!

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Back in October my family came to visit me in North Wales and we finally went over to see the dolphins! I’m not going to say where we saw them as when they are visiting crowds of people turn up in boats and chase the dolphins away or damage them with the propellers.

We parked up and walked the short walk up to the edge, we followed a coastal path for a bit where we saw a seal and a kestrel and the we turned around and carried on in the right direction.

We stopped of at a bench overlooking a bay and I was sitting down starting to fall asleep when my dad yelled “Meg quick! Dolphins!” Now, my dad does this all the time so I thought he was messing around but he was not. He passed me his binoculars and I hot to see my first ever Risso’s dolphin!

We just watched from the cliffs for a couple of hours as the dolphins played and danced in the water. They were probably 200- 300m out at sea but we could see them jumping in and out of the water.

In addition to the Risso’s out at sea there were also some harbour porpoises playing at the base of the cliffs, and there was a youngster with them which was amazing!

Eventually the dolphins moved off and as the sun was starting to set we decided t head off as well. Plus we were all very hungry by that point so we left to go searching for a roast dinner!

Overall we saw 1 kestrel, 1 seal 4 porpoises and 18 Risso dolphins! I hope I get to see some more when they return in April!

Thanks for reading,

Meg!

Keeperfest Day 3

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The start of day three was the most exhausting, after a bad nights sleep in my tent ans the trains waking everybody up at around 5:45am. Everybody just got up as it was better than just lying there.

We got ready and headed over to the restaurant for food and to brush our teeth.

We headed back to the site and sat ready and waiting for our next instructions following the tour of the zoo. The thing with this tour, is that most people did not turn up because we had already gone on a tour the day before, but as we were sitting getting ready for the tour we found out that we could choose an animal to meet. I chose the anteater and we also met the armadillos which was amazing (I have actually drawn one of my pictures of the armadillos and it is available on my redbubble!

MMC: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/157181886

We attended more workshops and talk, I attended the firearms workshop where I learnt about rifles and shotguns, why firearms is needed in zoos and how to put a dart together for animal knockdowns. It was really interesting and I timed it well as straight after the workshop there was a talk on firearms in zoos given by Sarah Forsyth who is the current curator at London zoo but she was the curator at Colchester zoo for a long time, she talked about lots of interesting things including the views of a curator/ firearms team member when a pack of wolves escaped their enclosure when it was damaged during a storm. All of the information shared during talks was very interesting and I learnt a lot from this event.

After these talks we went over to the firehose building gable and helped build some cube feeders which I assume were going to be given to some of the animals at jimmy’s farm.

As the sun started to set we decided to call it a night, we could have stayed an extra night but by then Keeperfest had finished and we wanted to go home.

For any keepers who read this, I highly suggest going if you are able to, it sounds like the event is just going to keep getting bigger and bigger.

Thank you for reading,

Meg! xx

Keeperfest Day 2

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Day 2 of keeperfest started with us trying to find somewhere to brush our teeth! After a very interesting night in the tent and me hoping it would be over asap! The morning finally came and and we could go and find food.

We went to the onsite restaurant for breakfast (as it was the only food option) and I got a full English with a cup of tea which was amazing! Once we finished our breakfast we learnt that we could in fact brush our teeth in the bathrooms which made life a lot easier!

After breakfast we headed back over to the campsite and joined the crowd of people. We were split into two groups and we were sent off on tours around the park with the rangers. I haven’t been to the farm for a few years so seeing all the improvements were really impressive and it was lovely to see all of the different species they house there. I took lots of pictures on my way round, spoke to lots of people and asked lots of questions.

On our return to the campsite we sat waiting for instructions and we listened to a few guest speakers before heading off to wander around the stalls.

I ended up buying so much. I brought artworks and photographs and we attended a workshop on making fake rockwork for enclosures and splicing.

It was really nice to meet people and learn new skills, we had free entry to the park but we didn’t go back in alone.

I joined another sunset tour around the zoo and spoke to a couple of photographers. I got some amazing silhouettes and I fell in love with the eland!

In the evening there was a big networking party but I was tired to I didn’t stay for long. My colleague sat with some other people from another farm collection and I joined them, it was nice to chit chat with them bit I ended up going to bed around 11pm!

All my photos fromJimmy’s farm are available on my redbubble shop!

Thanks for reading stay tuned for one more keeperfest update.

Meg!

Keeperfest Day 1

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Back at the start of September me and a fellow colleague travelled to Jimmy’s farm and wildlife park to attend their keeper evert Keeperfest! All I can say is wow! This event was amazing I was able to attend talks and workshops, network and there were some stalls advertising ABWAK (association of British and Irish wild animal keepers) and some others selling their art work.

It was a whole weekend thing and we arrived on the Friday night and set up our tents. We managed to get some food and joined everyone else over in the bar.

My colleague introduced me to some old friends and soon we were invited to go on a tour of the site. The curator of the zoo took us around and I managed to get some amazing photographs of the animals in the golden hour light.

This was the first time we got to go and see the polar bears and the arctic wolves which was really cool as this area of the zoo wasn’t open yet!

As the sun started to set and it got too dark we headed back to bar and sat and chatted. We hadn’t arrived until after 7pm and after travelling a fair distance we started to get a bit tired so we headed to bed around 10pm.

The whole evening was very nice and as it was at the beginning of September it wasn’t too cold. The overall experience of camping was an interesting one, I woke up at one point in the night to find the toilet and the moon was bright and there were just so many stars, it was absolutely beautiful! But it’s safe to say that the weekend only got better from there.

Stay tuned for updates on the rest of keeperfest!

Thanks for reading,

Meg!

Colchester Zoo

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Back in the summer I took a trip with my sister to Colchester zoo, at this point I was not in a very good place and I did not film a video or anything. As you know Colchester zoo I my happy place and we thought a trip there would make things not so bad and we were right. visiting all the animals definitely made me feel better.

We just walked and I took some pictures with my camera. It was really nice and this was the last time I visited the zoo as I have now moved to North Wales which means my local zoo is Chester Zoo!

I can’t exactly remember which route I took now but I know we saw the leopards and Crispin was putting on a show as he was looking for food in his enclosure. I did manage to get one or two not so great photos but I love them either way. He is such an amazing cat and he just fascinates me!

From the photos I took I can see we also saw the binturong, the Fiji banded iguana, The cheetahs and the great grey owl. I know we saw many more different species whilst we were there but due to me having the settings on my camera over exposed a lot of the pictures came out too bright and were unsalvageable even when I was editing them.

I have not been back to Colchester zoo since this trip but I am hoping to get back to the zoo in an upcoming visit home!

Thanks for reading,

Meg xx