My proper day job is usually office bound. A typical day finds me at a desk in front of a computer writing applications to charitable trusts in the hope of raising funds for the work at Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve. So, when I was invited to spend a day at the Hawk and Owl Trust watchpoint at Norwich Cathedral, I accepted with great pleasure.
In case you have missed it the splendid cathedral is playing host to Dippy the Dinosaur, and he is a popular chap! So, far some 40,000 visitors have queued in sun and rain to visit. Lots of very excited children were following the large green dinosaur footprints painted on the paths leading through the close. Seeing all the lovely images of owls and other birds of prey on our trailer tempted them to visit. We have an outline of the wingspans of different birds of prey ranging from the biggest – the Golden Eagle to the smallest – the Merlin. The children were fascinated! “I’m a Golden Eagle”, said one small boy. We stood him in front of the outline, “Not even close,” said his Dad, “You’re not even a Buzzard!” That little scene repeated itself for most of the day as the children collected cards with pictures of the bids and their vital statistics printed on them. I reminded the keen recipients to keep the cards safe, so that when the teacher asks you what you did in the school holidays, you will have a good story to tell.
What was fascinating was the level of interest shown by our young visitors. They were full of questions about birds, wildlife in general and, of course, Dippy. It is encouraging to see that so many children are genuinely interested in the natural world around them. Perhaps their visit will encourage them to become conservationists of the future – let’s hope so.