News
Will our wildlife be celebrating Natural England’s third birthday?
Three years ago last weekend, Natural England was born. Formed from the merger of three organisations, it emerged into the expectant glare of England’s wildlife charities, including WWT, the UK’s leading wetland conservation charity. We have been watc
13 October 2009
The Crimson Wing debuts with footage from Slimbridge
The million+ lesser flamingos at Lake Natron in Tanzania are the subject of a visually stunning new documentary film from Disneynature. The Crimson Wing charts the life of a lesser flamingo from birth and follows its battle to thrive in the unforgiving e
25 September 2009
Rare first-winter marsh warbler in first for Slimbridge
He might have arrived in time for Sir Peter Scott's centenary celebrations on Monday, but he was so unexpected a sighting that official verification that he is a first-winter marsh warbler has only just been confirmed. Marsh warblers are generally seen in
17 September 2009
Artist-led bat house gives a lead to building design of the future
WWT is marking today's centenary of the birth of our founder, Sir Peter Scott, by urging architects, builders and home-improvers to follow his lead and do work which benefits wildlife as well as people. The call coincides with the opening this morning of
14 September 2009
WWT hopeful that innovation will prevail in Severn Estuary - though threat of a Cardiff-Weston barrage remains
WWT welcomes the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan white paper which put the quest for tidal power in the Severn Estuary into a national context. However, the inclusion of the environmentally destructive Cardiff-Weston barrage in the government's shortlist of
16 July 2009
Amazing first pics of Dumfriesshire's first osprey chick
An osprey chick pops out from the nest looking for a feed from mum, only to be captured by a waiting lens for the first detailed picture of the one month old reluctant celebrity. The best way to see Dumfriesshire's first ever osprey chick and its doting
9 July 2009
A time for leadership for the Severn estuary
Opinion-formers and leading experts meet today (Tuesday 9 June) to send a clear message to the Government - ahead of the announcement of finalised shortlisted projects to harness tidal power and energy from the Severn estuary. This decision - and the app
9 June 2009
Osprey chick hatches in record first for Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire's first ever osprey chick in living memory hatched at WWT Caerlaverock on Sunday morning ending more than a month of excited anticipation by staff and visitors. After 40 days of incubation, enduring scorching sun, gusting winds and torrentia
8 June 2009
Largest butterfly invasion in over a decade!
Over three thousand painted lady butterflies were counted at WWT Slimbridge yesterday in what is thought to be the largest migration of the species in over a decade. Millions of the species have been arriving in Britain in the past week after an amazing
29 May 2009
Birds of conservation concern - report published
The latest assessment of the status of all of the UK's 246 regularly occurring birds - Birds of Conservation Concern 3 - shows 52 are now of the highest conservation concern and have been placed on the assessment's red list. The revised red list now incl
28 May 2009
WWT makes a World of Difference in Nepal
WWT's project Wetland Management for Sustainable Livelihoods at Koshi Tappu, Nepal received a special commendation for CIWEM's World of Difference Award. This project addressed the issues of unsustainable exploitation at Ramsar site Koshi Tappu Wildlife R
28 May 2009
200 near-extinct tadpole shrimps hatch at Caerlaverock
WWT has taken an important step in the conservation of the UK's near-extinct tadpole shrimp population this week, hatching an amazing 200 tank bred triops at its reserve at Caerlaverock, Scotland, after only the first attempt. The tadpole shrimp (Triops c
20 May 2009
IUCN Red List for birds is updated
On 14 May, the new Red List update for birds was published. Set up by Sir Peter Scott in 1962, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plants and animal species. It evaluat
12 May 2009
WWT welcomes spotlight on barriers to migration
This weekend, World Migratory Bird Day (9-10 May) throws the spotlight on the threat posed by man-made barriers to the migration of hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese and swans. Over the years, studies by conservation organisations including WWT have s
7 May 2009
Mute swans nest at bottom of Sir Peter Scott's statue
In a fitting gesture to celebrate Sir Peter Scott’s centenary year, a mute swan has laid a clutch of eggs at the foot of Scott’s commemorative statue at WWT London Wetland Centre. The statue is on a small island in the middle of the entrance lake and
1 May 2009