Top picks 3 We have two types of flamingo here at 5 Immerse your group in a wild place, Martin Mere visit Wild walk – welly boots needed Best spots See our greater and Chilean flamingos. Walk through different watery habitats Map & guide to visit... where you can: The greater flamingos For schools & learning groups are pale pink and Meander through can be found in the the muddy meadow ponds just outside – what else is See the best of our wetland wildlife the centre. living in there? Use the numbers with the map overleaf Our Chilean Wander in the wet flamingos are in their woods – listen for own area just beyond small birds in the Feeding the birds the otters. They are a trees above. 1 deeper red and pink Bags of food are available from reception colour. Compare their Get lost in a reedy and the shop. leg colour with the ramble spotting greater flamingos. wildlife and giant Many of our ducks and sculptures. geese will feed straight Some of our greater from your hand. flamingos are over 40 years old! Kneel down, and keep hands low and flat to To spot some of our wild birds, visit our encourage them to 4 If you have booked the Pond come over to you and Discovery hide 6 nibble the food. zone, this is the place to explore From here you can see a mix of wild ducks, our ponds and discover real and If you are a bit nervous geese, swans and wading birds. amazing underwater life. look out for friendly nenes (Hawaiian geese) During the winter, which gently nibble look out of the food from your hand. large, low windows to see thousands To burn off extra energy Top picks of wintering birds and get physical, visit our See our otter family here including tufted 7 2 Adventure play area and Best spots They can be active at any time of day but ducks, wigeon, pintail, Den building area. they also like to nap. teal, shelducks, to visit greylag geese and whooper swans. If you don’t see them while you are there in During the quieter the morning, they will summer months, wwt.org.uk/learn probably be out in what can you see SlimbridgeMartin Mere the afternoon. and identify? WWT reg. charity in England & Wales, no. 1030884 and Scotland, no. SC039410 WetlWetlandand Cent Centrere Answers to questions Harrier hide ExploreTop tips our pupils love to ask wetlandsand map How many birds do you have? We have 70 species in the living collection, including Nature reserve 16 species of geese, four species of swans, two Roundhouse species of flamingos, two species of cranes and village one species of stork. On the reserve we have over 150 species of wild birds throughout the year. We count the wild birds, so we know that we can have up to 45,000 pink-footed geese (peak numbers EUROPE in October and November) and up to 2,500 whooper The mere swans each winter. 5 Wild walk Where do whooper swans come from? Bug They travel here from Iceland. hotel Weird or wonderful? Discovery 3 4 hide Where do pink-footed geese come from? Greater They travel here from eastern Greenland, Iceland flamingos and Spitsbergen, where polar bears live. Wooded wetlands 1 Canoe Shop safari Swan lake i Why do swans and geese travel to places such Kiosk i 7 Adventure as Iceland when they could stay here to be Cafe play area well fed and warmer? i i Entrance i SOUTH Pond They travel so far north in the summer as there is AMERICA 6 i i zone i 24 hours’ daylight there and little competition with Visitor centre other waterbirds. Their young are able to feast on Den building i vegetation and insects, growing very quickly, area 7 3 i 2 Cari park before flying as a family to Martin Mere. Chilean Small flamingos ASIA Otters wood Coach i Please wash your hands Why are flamingos pink? park i All wildlife can carry diseases Plum wood Eco garden Flamingos eat shrimps that contain pink chemicals minibeast habitat Storks which turn their feathers pink. They use the colour i Rain shelter to display and show off to each other.