A fascinating day at Slimbridge and some bad news.

I hadn’t been for at least 10 years - but my friend G is a member, and I was glad to go with her. We saw so many beautiful wild birds, including many who migrate from northern Russia and Siberia to winter here, travelling 3 or 4 thousand miles. It was wonderful to see hundreds of lapwing - which are on the red endangered list. 
They seem to have a conservation brief, and are involved in saving almost extinct species of water bird, in places as far afield as Hawaii and Madagascar - somewhat against the odds, as the environment has been degraded so severely in both places. They are there involved in trying to achieve improving one pesticide-filled lake in Madagascar sufficiently that birds can live in it. 
I can’t get a photo worth blipping of the birds, so here is a pair of otters ( tho Asian, not native ones) who are also endangered wetlands residents. 
Greatly saddened though not really surprised to learn of the murder of Alexei Navalny when I got home. It’s important, I feel , never to forget Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya, or Alexander Litvinenko,  either.  If we remember, he hasn’t succeeded.