News
Afternoon update
A bittern has been seen in the reedbed adjacent to the Welsh Water hide and a drake goosander has been seen in front of the heron hide.
20 January 2013
Woodcock again
Woodcock showed well from the Janet Kear Hide this morning until early afternoon when it was flushed into the undergrowth when the feeders were topped up. Grey Wagtail by the Beaver Enclosure. Always a bird that reacts to hard weather by leaving it's upla
20 January 2013
Late morning update
A brambling has been seen in front of the British Steel hide and over 100 redwing and 25 fieldfare have been feeding on the fields at the back of the hide. 3 red breasted merganser, 3 goldeneye, and up to 7 great crested grebe have been seen on the estuar
20 January 2013
Latest Sightings
Reports from yesterday of the drake Green-winged Teal and Todd's Canada Goose. The Drake Green-winged Teal is again present this morning and showing well on the Folly Pond from the Farmhouse Tower. Around the rest of the reserve a lot of the water bodies
20 January 2013
Wildlife sightings for 20th January 2013
1 Bittern - reservoir lagoon 1 Smew - sheltered lagoon 61 Wigeon - main lake 4 Snipe - marsh 15 Fieldfare - flew S c30 Siskin - south route 10 Meadow Pipit - feeding on the marsh 2 Bearded Tit - grazing marsh Additional sighting from yesterday: 2 R
20 January 2013
Today's bird sightings
British Steel hide/estuary 17 brent goose, 18 greylag goose, 33 shelduck, 95 pintail, 56 wigeon, 18 gadwall, 28 teal, 15 mallard, 30 shoveler, 6 tufted duck, 2 goldeneye, 70 lapwing, 950 oystercatcher, 5 snipe, 84 black tailed godwit, 70 curlew, 5 little
20 January 2013
Latest Sightings
No sign of the Todd's Canada Goose this morning on the entrance road. Whooper Pond Whooper Swan 220+ Mute Swan 60 Wigeon 120 Tufted Duck 74 Teal 30 Pintail 1 Greylag Goose 40 Tawny Owl 1 (still in box to the west of obs) Avenue’s and Trails Yellowhammer
20 January 2013
Snow covered but good birding.
A light snow covering but the roads to the reserve and paths along the Nature Trail are fine. A good selection of sightings today. The drake Green-winged Teal present in front of the Harrier Hide. At least 700 Whooper Swan throughout the day with more pre
19 January 2013
Wildlife sightings for 19th January 2013
3 Bittern - N bank main lake 1 flew off to reservoir lagoon 1 Smew - sheltered lagoon 88 Fieldfare - mostly flying N with up to 20 dropping into wildside 12 Redwing - 4 on site the rest flying N 1 Skylark - flew W 7 Meadow Pipit - grazing marsh 46 Siskin
19 January 2013
We are open
Some 3" of snow covering the site but all the roads are clear and access around the grounds and hides is fine. The snow and frost have pushed most of the Ducks and Waders onto the estuary. The hotspots still with open water are the Rushy,Big Pen (Swan lak
19 January 2013
Todays Sightings
Wader Lake Time/AM Tide/High 100% Frozen Lapwing - 3 Black-headed Gull - 26 Hawthorn Wood Robin - 12 Bullfinch - 6 Chaffinch - 5 Coal Tit - 6 Great Tit - 4 Blue Tit - 10 Other Birds Long-tailed Tit (Nort
19 January 2013
Otter
At the evening feed on Friday 18 January there was an univited guest in the form of an otter. It looked quite small in size so potentially it was a juvenile from this year and was obviously using this area of unfrozen water as an air hole. The birds d
19 January 2013
Why is an enclosure as big as it is?
Part of my research question for my PhD is looking at the effect of enclosure design and exhibit space on animal behaviour, and the level of activity that animals within perform. Animal enclosures need to replicate important parts of the inhabitant's natu
18 January 2013
Big 9 challenge: TV presenters nationwide nature quest
On 25 January TV naturalist and WWT supporter Mike Dilger starts a nationwide tour to raise awareness and money for wetlands. The quest will take in all nine WWT centres across the UK in just nine days, finishing on World Wetlands Day (2 February). Along
18 January 2013
Swans on ice
The recent snow and freezing conditions have meant that the swans and ducks have started to take up the local tradition of Fen skating - here are a few images from yesterday out on the Ouse washes when we had a rare sunny day.
18 January 2013