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Marion invites you to the first ever corncrake festival!
14 June 2012
Jess Tomes
Communications Officer
E-mail: jess.tomes@rspb.org.uk
The first ever Corncrake Festival in Uist is taking place at the RSPB's Balranald reserve on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd June.
Marion Ferguson, information officer at the reserve, promises there’ll be plenty to keep children and adults entertained during the event. “It’s going to be a lot of fun” says Marion. “There’ll be guided walks, two free barbecues, beer and whisky tastings, and loads of free games and activities for children to get involved in too.”
Activities planned for Saturday afternoon include a “Machair Race” (with a prize for the fastest!), corncrake origami, badge making, face painting, and “pin the beak on the corncrake”, plus loads more. Children are invited to create a corncrake picture to bring along in the afternoon, to be judged in a competition at 3.30pm – there’ll be a prize for the winner.
Jamie Boyle, RSPB Balranald reserve site manager, explained why the corncrake is something to celebrate on Uist. “Corncrakes were once common across much of the UK, but changes in farming practices saw the population plummet, and by the early 90s, it became a globally-threatened species. But crofters and farmers here in the Hebrides, with support from agricultural schemes, have produced an increase in corncrake numbers in recent years, and that has to be worth celebrating.”
The fun kicks off at RSPB Balranald reserve on Friday at 7.00pm for an evening guided walk around the reserve, followed by the barbecue. Later on, the corncrake walk will start at 9.30pm and last for about half an hour. On Saturday, family activities will run from 2.30pm till 5.00pm and then at 7.00pm there’ll be a re-run of Friday evenings activities. Please phone 07768 042547 for more details.