News
Hawkers and common darters
Last week's dragonfly survey recorded over one hundred dragonflies and damselflies onsite. Five species were recorded: mostly migrant hawkers and common darter dragonflies with good numbers of southern hawkers, brown hawkers, and willow emerald damself
20 September 2023
Kingfisher adults & juveniles all active on site
The last brood of kingfishers fledged from the bank on Arun Riverlife around 9th August, but can still be seen darting around the reserve, as can the parents.Regular visitor Alec Pelling took this stunning kingfisher photo from the Discovery hide on Sept
12 September 2023
Waterbird ID Guide
This handy reference guide will help spot autumn migrants and the wintering water birds of Arundel Wetland Centre. Download this free guide to Arundel's most common ducks and birds. Get the Water Bird Spotter guide
10 September 2023
Juvenile kingfishers around
Kingfisher fledglings were still on Arun Riverlife lagoon last week practicing their fishing, showing well from the Discovery hide. Kingfisher sightings were also at the Scrape hide and on the Wetland Discovery boat channels.Wildflowers: water mint, purpl
3 September 2023
Cattle egrets & kingfishers
Cattle egrets were seen regularly from the Ramsar hide last week. Last year the egrets were photographed by our Reserve Intern Anna Cork as they interacted with the Dexter X cattle we had onsite, relieving them of some of their flies. Keep an eye for s
22 August 2023
Summer youngsters & bounty of butterflies
We're well into August now but there are still young families about. Not all chicks are fully fledged. Its been a good summer for moorhens and we are still seeing their youngsters. especially in the reedbeds and the Wood Loop. Everybody's favourite robin
10 August 2023
Kingfishers are feeding young again
On Monday a male kingfisher was spotted entering a hole in the nesting bank on the Arun Riverlife lagoon carrying a fish. This means the pair are feeding young and have at least one chick in this second brood. Visitor Alec Pelling photographed the male
2 August 2023
Shrews, bank voles & tits on dormouse survey
We didn't find any dormice in our recent dormouse survey on July 19 but there were many surprises waiting in the 60+ dormouse nesting boxes to open onsite. In June's survey, one box held a pretty blue tit nest which has now become a rowdy crew of blu
26 July 2023
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
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
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
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
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
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
Sand martins & great crested grebe
At the Sand martin hide we are seeing about 20 sand martins at a go, hawking insects over the water and entering burrows on both ‘wings’ of the hide. A pair of oystercatchers seem to have settled there now, as in previous years - we haven't spotted a
16 May 2023