News
The wind is turning!
The wind is finally turning north-easterly! Four more swans made the most of these good migratory conditions and flew into Slimbridge today, increasing the reserve count to eight. We welcomed back loyal pair Vance and Vanessa who have spent every winter h
9 November 2010
Busy week for feathered visitors to WWT Centres
This week has been a busy one with a variety of exciting arrivals at WWT Wetland Centres across the UK. • WWT Martin Mere have had the best autumn migration for 15 years, with over 1000 whooper swans on the mere and still over 25,000 pink-feet. The firs
5 November 2010
Toby the whooper enjoys life at Slimbridge!
Every winter, one or two Whooper swans may drop into Slimbridge but are usually quick to leave again. However, Toby is happily bucking convention and seems to be making himself very much at home on the reserve. After arriving on 14 October with a friend w
1 November 2010
Wintering sites start filling up
Wintering sites across Europe have been filling up over the last few days as the swans continue to make progress with their migration. Over 800 birds have now arrived at Lake Markiezaat in the south of Holland and 489 birds are happily feeding on the Nort
27 October 2010
Dario and Cole arrive on time and cause a stir!
A commotion on Swan Lake signalled the arrival of Dario with mate Cole this morning as they immediately summoned the energy to have a battle with established birds Risa and Riso! The best feeding spot on the lake was at stake and although the new arrivals
25 October 2010
The Bewick’s are back early – could this mean a cold winter ahead?
The first Bewick’s swans flew into Slimbridge yesterday, bringing with them cold temperatures and crisp clear skies! Eight birds settled onto the reserve after completing a gruelling 2,500 mile journey from breeding grounds in the Russian arctic. This w
19 October 2010
Study brings a temporary reprieve for the Severn Estuary
The Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study, published today, brings a temporary reprieve for the Severn Estuary, the home of WWT. We welcomes news that the Cardiff-Weston Barrage, the largest scheme with the biggest potential impact on the wildlife and ha
18 October 2010
The state of the UK’s birds: a conservation barometer
As nations gather in Nagoya, Japan, next week, for the world biodiversity conference, a coalition of UK conservation organisations has today published a report using the UK’s birds as a barometer of conservation success. In 1994, the UK government ide
15 October 2010
Nature’s place in government policy
Last week, Defra published the results of a key study, Making Space for Nature, which reports how robust wildlife sites are across England, and on what might need to change in the future to safeguard nature right across the landscape. The findings are pr
28 September 2010
First winter migrants begin arriving at WWT reserves
As September draws to an end, WWT wetland reserves have begun to see the very first winter migrants arriving from countries such as Iceland and Russia. By mid-October we expect tens of thousands of Brent geese – most of the world’s population – to
27 September 2010
WWT aerial research secures new SPAs for waterbirds
Ground-breaking aerial research conducted by WWT has helped to secure two new EU Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in Liverpool Bay and the Outer Thames Estuary by demonstrating how important these areas are for red-throated divers and common scoters. The
23 September 2010
Short film promotes mission to save Madagascar pochard
A short film of last year's mission to Madagascar to rescue the endemic pochard from imminent extinction has been posted on YouTube. It tells the story of the team of WWT and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust staff who worked with the local Malagasy com
21 September 2010
Turning tides for waterbirds in the UK
In recent years, the UK’s estuaries and other wetlands have seen several notable changes in the birds using them. Little egret and avocet are now present in higher numbers than ever before, but familiar species such as ringed plover and dunlin are at al
24 August 2010
Svalbard expedition confirms hungry polar bears a threat to conservation success story
A Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) scientist just returned from Svalbard has confirmed that polar bears stranded on land in the summer months are devastating breeding barnacle goose populations as they roam the coastline looking for food. Conservation ef
17 August 2010
More Welsh birds in the red
The latest assessment of all of Wales’ 213 regularly occurring birds – Population Status of Birds in Wales 2 – shows 45 species are now of the highest conservation concern and have been placed on the assessment’s red list. Alarmingly, red-listed
11 August 2010