Weaving a willow curlew

Flanders Moss NNR

Yesterday’s blog post was about the Dawn Chorus project where S3 Wallace High pupils have been exploring the dawn chorus at Flanders Moss. One of the special birds that we have at Flanders Moss is the curlew. The pupils not only got the thrill of hearing a curlew in full voice (a fantastic sound) but also got to see a couple of birds through the telescope. These striking waders are declining fast across the UK so it is important for the pupils who got to see and hear them, to also find out about why they are declining so fast. Their initial sketches are looking pretty good.

But another part of the project is that all the pupils are playing their part to create a couple of giant sized curlews out of willow. Lead by the expert willowy weaver, Kate Sankey, the pupils all got to bend some willow wands into a couple of developing curlew structures. From the pictures below you can see how they are starting off but you will have to visit West Moss-side farm and Flanders Moss during the Forth valley Open Studio week to see the final pieces of art. You might get to see and hear a curlew yourselves if you visited and these days that is a special experience in itself.