Be wild at heart! It’s a natural love story in Buckinghamshire

Are you wild at heart? Do you long to be outside in the fresh air, surrounded by the sounds and sights of nature? Just as nature is starting to wake up after winter, the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust is hoping to make everyone feel more Wild at Heart by showcasing the wildlife we have all around us at this time of year.

February is the perfect month to fall in love with your local wildlife. While love-birds (of the human variety) are preparing their Valentine’s Day cards and secret gifts, some of our feathered love-birds are creating spectacular displays of pair-bonding. Signs of spring are everywhere, from pure white snowdrops poking through the dark earth to golden ‘lambs’ tails’ catkins dangling from hazel trees.

Where you can be Wild at Heart in Buckinghamshire

At our beautiful College Lake nature reserve near Tring love is already in the air! Why not drop in to discover what the birds are up to as they find mates, and prepare for nesting and laying eggs.

Claire Garrity, Environmental Education Manager, explains: “There’s something for everyone on the family days, 17 and 18 February, including trails, crafts, and exploration. All the activities will be based around birds. How they attract mates, build nests and how we can help by feeding the adults so they are in prime condition for breeding this spring.”

Lakes and reservoirs are perfect places to see wildlife in action. Some water birds have fascinating courtship rituals. Great crested grebes have an amazing ‘dance’, mirroring each other as closely as any winning pair on Strictly Come Dancing! What a treat to watch, provided by nature and not a sequin in sight.

It’s sometimes hard to believe that when College Lake first opened as a nature reserve in 1988, parts of it were still an active chalk quarry. On 13 February there’s a guided walk around the reserve when you can discover how the Wildlife Trust manages the site that has now become such a wonderful haven for water birds and other wildlife.

Take the Nature Challenge Trail wherever you are.

Nature isn’t just found tucked away on nature reserves, it’s all around us once we start to look: in our gardens, outside office windows or on the journey to work. Can you take the challenge this February to go wild at heart and fall in love with the special wildlife that’s all around us too?

Download the Nature Challenge Trail from www.bbowt.org.uk/wildatheart and discover wildlife where you live using all your senses to hear, see and touch nature whether you’re in your garden, a town park or out in the countryside.

Visit Wild at Heart to find out more about all the events happening during February and complete our wildlife-themed quiz. Share your wild adventures and photos with us on Twitter, @BBOWT #WildAtHeart, or Facebook www.facebook.com/bbowildlifetrust