JANUARY BULLETIN

Diary Nature Dates:

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch - January 29th - 31st

Moon Phases:

Full Moon - January 28th

January's Moon - Wolf Moon

NEWS:

Let the Adventure begin ............

Welcome to The Nature Bug Club's first bulletin. It only seemed right, that my new venture should be launched in the New Year, so here we go! The Nature Bug Club is an online hub which will offer inspiration, ideas and collections of carefully curated nature resources, making it easy for parents or carers, to educate and encourage curious little minds about the environment they live in.

By becoming a member of the club (which is free!) you will receive a monthly bulletin with information regarding nature events happening that month, craft activities and suggestions of things to do on your outdoor adventures. There will be a tutorials sections giving instructions for activities to help your little ones achieve their collectible badges and you will also be notified of upcoming products and promotions.

Whether you are an experienced adventurer, or a complete novice looking for a little guidance for you and your little ones, everyone is welcome!

Welcome to ‘The Nature Bug Club’

EVENTS:

The big event this month, is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. You can sign up at www.rspb.org.uk and find out all the information on how to get involved. It’s a really fun event for all the family to participate in and takes place over the weekend of January 29th - 31st. You just need to spend one hour counting the birds you see in your garden, local park or any outside area. But be warned birdwatching gets addictive! We have some beautiful resources available on our website to help you identify the visitors you get. Why not take a look here

Did you know that birds have different shaped beaks, depending on what type of food they like to eat? Also that they use their beaks for grooming, creating nests, feeding their young and mating, they’re clever things.

We have been filling our bird feeders since early November and have tried different feeds to see what birds they attract. Here is what we discovered;

Peanuts - Blue Tits and Great Tits

Niger Seed - Goldfinches

Fat Balls - Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Mixed Bird Seed - Sparrows

We also discovered that Pigeons, Magpies and Starlings will eat anything!

Remember that if you are putting food out to encourage the birds into your garden, it is important to keep the feeders clean and and make sure there is a supply of fresh water too.

Even if you do not have a garden, why not visit a local park or outdoor space to see what birds you can find there?

Toilet Roll Binoculars

Make your own pair of binoculars for birdwatching

What you need;

2 x Toilet roll tubes

Paint, Felt, Crayons, Paper to decorate your tubes

Scissors

Glue

2 x Paperclips

Piece of string or wool long enough for neck strap

1. Cover or paint your toilet roll tubes, we used sticky back felt.

2. When dry, decorate them as you wish

3. Place your tubes next to each other and place a paperclip each end to hold the two tubes together. You can glue them, but we found clips to be more stable.

4. Poke a hole on the outside of one tube about 1.5 cms from the top, insert string from outside in and tie a tight knot. Pull the string taut until the knot reaches the side and then repeat on the other side.

5. Your binoculars are finished and you're good to go twitching!

Did you know that making Toilet Roll Binoculars counts as one of the activities you need to complete to achieve your Bird House Badge? Why not take a look at the badge here

Happy January, happy adventuring and don’t forget to tag us #thenaturebugclub so we can see what you get up to!

xx