News
Lapwing, teal & gadwall numbers back up after the thaw
Now that our waterways have thawed lapwing numbers are back up with the highest count 120 last Saturday. We’ve pochards onsite too – on Arun Riverlife, Pelican Cove and Wetland Discovery. A pair of pochard nested on Pelican Cove last year so we are ke
31 January 2023
Bullfinches along Tranquil Trail
Bullfinches have been showing in the hedgerows along the Long path and Tranquil Trail. Sightings of these bright birds (the males) in the trees of the Reedswamp exhibit as well. Visitors reported spotting firecrests last weekend as well. They usually s
24 January 2023
Displaying teal on the icy scrape
Teal, gadwall and shoveler are present in good numbers from Ramsar, Sand Martin and Scrape hides, with shelduck dotted amongst them. Pair bonds are forming and the array of display between species is an often comical sight. Teal were calling and the males
17 January 2023
Free cup of tea or coffee for WWT members
Members - get a free pot of tea or cup of filter coffee when you visit Arundel Wetland Centre between Jan 28 to Feb 10. With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, we want to say how much we love your support by giving our adult members a Winter Warmer Reward
17 January 2023
Peregrines, sparrowhawk and kestrel onsite
Birds of prey sightings this week include our regular kestrel visiting a few times and sightings of a peregrine and a sparrow hawk. A great spotted woodpecker is showing frequently in the Wood Loop now and this week we had a green woodpecker at the far en
12 January 2023
Teal numbers increase
Thirty-four teal were on the water between the Ramsar and Sand martin hides on Tues 3 Jan, with 17 teal at the Lapwing hide on Mon 2 and 17 teal on the Scrape hide Sat 31 Dec. On Fri 30 Dec our Grounds team counted five pochards on the Arun Riverlife lago
2 January 2023
Lapwing flock to Ramsar islands
Lapwing numbers are up with c250 in on Wednesday morning on the islands between the Sand Martin and Ramsar hides. Our outdoor teams flushed up 72 snipe while working on the wet grassland Wednesday as well. Thurs 29 Dec Arun Riverlife: 10 pochard, 1 co
29 December 2022
Black-tailed godwits & red kites
On Monday two red kites were playing over our front reedbed, car park and Mill road, enjoying the warmer air and updrafts off the Offfham hangar. Then the pair would drop low, around twenty feet above the visitor centre. A buzzard was doing similar only n
20 December 2022
Increasing lapwing numbers
Last weekend we had about 70 lapwing in each day. On Monday our Reserve staff counted 163 lapwing between Ramsar and Sand Martin hide and more in the air. At 3.30 pm there was still about 70 lapwing on the third islands there along with a very annoyed cor
5 December 2022
White-tailed eagles at Arundel
A wildlife reintroduction project miles away on the Isle of Wight has led to sightings of white-tailed eagles at Arundel Wetland Centre for the first time. The white-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles, began appearing here in October and are still
5 December 2022
Holiday hours at Arundel Wetland Centre
Arundel Wetland Centre is open every day in December, except for Christmas Day, to allow visitors to enjoy vibrant family days out or peaceful moments, away from the hustle and bustle, this holiday season.For Christmas Eve December 24 we are closing at bi
1 December 2022
Lapwings, bullfinches & grebes
The juvenile great crested grebe was still on site this morning between the Ramsar hide and the Sand martins. Our usual little grebe (dabchick) was there as well although going after much smaller fish! The new gravel islands are proving popular with cormo
21 November 2022
Sea eagle, great crested grebe & teal
Its been a week of wild, rainy and windy weather! We sighted one of the white tailed eagles again on Mon 7 Nov, flying over the reserve from the Offham Hangar. On Saturday and Monday a juvenile great crested grebe was onsite seen from the Ramsar hide. A l
9 November 2022
White Tailed eagle sightings
Two white-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles have been spotted over our site since daily last Sun 30 Oct. Red kites have also been spotted near the eagles, and sometimes it is just a solo eagle. We have been seeing the eagles off and on all month.
1 November 2022
Checking the nest chambers at the Sand Martin hide nesting bank
Now that breeding season is over and the martins have migrated south, our Reserve Team entered the nesting chambers of the Sand Martin hide to check how many were used this year. Many nest holes were active in the summer so we were excited to count the re
22 October 2022