News

Common tern & fledging sand martins

Common tern & fledging sand martins

After playing common tern calls from the Sand Martin Hide for the past ten weeks, there is finally some interest! We have not had common terns on site since 2014, but one has been turning up fairly regularly in the past few weeks, wondering where th

20 July 2023

Common tern, cattle egret & a lesser black-backed gull

Common tern, cattle egret & a lesser black-backed gull

We've had some interesting sightings between the Sand martin hide and Ramsar hide this week. A cattle egret in breeding plumage was grooming on the island opposite Sand martin hide Tuesday morning (photographed by WWT volunteer Andrew Burns). Our warde

13 July 2023

Fledgling cuckoo, Peregrines and Pochard

Fledgling cuckoo, Peregrines and Pochard

This week’s highlights include a fledgling cuckoo still being fed by an adult reed warbler, along the back of the boat safari channels. A family of (5) bullfinches was heard in the hedges by our gate near the Outlook In building and a (family?) group of

6 July 2023

What'a hatching behind the scenes

What'a hatching behind the scenes

Head Keeper Sam McKinlay and the Collection Team of Keepers care for the birds in the collection at Arundel Wetland Centre with specialist skills. Fish, heart, meal worms, sea pellet and special feeds make up the diets of these wetland birds from arou

5 July 2023

Discover a Wild Summer at Arundel

Discover a Wild Summer at Arundel

A pallette of wetland wildflowers, dramatic dragonflies and swarms of sand martins are some of the highlights you can experience at Arundel Wetland Centre this summer. Kingfisher battle royale Things got really wild when visitor Alec Pelling took thes

1 July 2023

Start of summer moult for some

Start of summer moult for some

Some ducks and geese are now going into moult. Mallard, gadwall and mandarin ducks along with greylag and Canada geese are all looking particularly tatty at the moment and the piles of feathers left behind are dotting our site! Pochard and tufted ducks ca

29 June 2023

Awards for WWT Arundel

Awards for WWT Arundel

Arundel Wetland Centre won 2 Gold Awards at the recent British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums (BIAZA) awards held in June. The first was a Gold award in the Education category. This was shared among the WWT centres that run "Generation Wild", th

24 June 2023

Wetlands access for all

Wetlands access for all

All our Wetland Centres exist to fulfil founder Peter Scott’s vision of connecting people with nature, so we make it a principle that our wetlands and wildlife are accessible to everyone. Access to wildlife and wild experiences, from exploring inside t

24 June 2023

Male kingfishers fight over territory

Male kingfishers fight over territory

A territorial dispute between two male kingfishers was captured by visitor Alec Pelling at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre on Sun 18 June. The two male kingfishers were fighting near the kingfisher nesting bank at Arundel Wetland Centre on Sun 18 June. Kingfi

22 June 2023

Kingfisher fight &  oystercatcher chicks

Kingfisher fight & oystercatcher chicks

Two male kingfishers got into a scrap near the kingfisher nesting bank on Arun Riverlife on Sun 18 June. Regular visitor Alec Pelling took these amazing photos of the skirmish. Kingfisher males are territorial - both these birds look male as their beaks a

21 June 2023

Mad as a hornet!

Mad as a hornet!

We spotted this European hornet furiously struggling to get out of this web and clear of this (brave) spider. The drama took place outside the windows of the Castle Meeting Room on the second floor of WWT Arundel Wetland Centre. The hornet eventually bro

18 June 2023

Gadwall, pochard and tufty duckling

Gadwall, pochard and tufty duckling

A female gadwall was on the pond from the Willow Sphere with 7 ducklings, the first gadwall chicks we have seen onsite in a few years. A pair of mute swans have hatched 6 cygnets. This swan family have been spotted on the water from Ramsar hide and along

10 June 2023

Mallard & Tufted duck co-parent ducklings

Mallard & Tufted duck co-parent ducklings

A female mallard duck has “adopted” a clutch of tufted ducklings and is helping their tufted duck mother raise them on Pelican Cove at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre. Ten days ago the two wild ducks hatched clutches of eggs on the same day, on the sam

7 June 2023

Changing places toilet opens Sat 27 May

Changing places toilet opens Sat 27 May

Our new Changing Places Toilet (CPT) has opened in time for the half term holidays. A Changing Places Toilets is larger than standard accessible toilets with extra features and more space. They are generally designed for assisted use, for example with a

27 May 2023

Quentin Blake art draws people to WWT Arundel

Quentin Blake art draws people to WWT Arundel

A trail highlighting the best of the wetland nature opened at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre on 18 May as part of a year-long partnership between renowned illustrator Sir Quentin Blake and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. The Drawn to Water spring/summer trail

24 May 2023