News
May events at Castle Espie
May 2011 It’s wild at Castle Espie – from plasticine to Mesolithic man! May beckons and with warmer weather just around the corner, Castle Espie Wetland Centre outside Comber has a few unusual events planned for the month. An early start at 6pm on Sa
6 May 2011
Chatty Cubans during hatch
These guys are one of the earliest clutches of Cubans seen at WWT Slimbridge for as long as anyone can remember. A lot of whistling duck species have the "aah" factor in bucket loads, but the Cuban whistling duck is often labelled the most "boring" and se
5 May 2011
An upcoming big event
Thank you for all of your birthday wishes - I had a nice relaxing day on my birthday and recharged the batteries so that I am ready for the next school holiday that starts in just over three weeks. We have a very big event coming up on Tuesday evening - i
5 May 2011
Join in the big toddle waddle at WWT Martin Mere
Toddlers, parents and nurseries are invited to WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre on Thursday 30 June at 10.30am to take part in the Big Toddle Waddle to raise money for Banardo's projects that help children under the age of 5. Entry is free to the Centre for
5 May 2011
Busy incubating two eggs in the sunshine
There has been no sign of a third egg laid this year and the female is sitting tight incubating the two eggs. AW as usual is taking his turn and she had to physically turf him off the eggs at one point yesterday, maybe she was ready for him to go and catc
4 May 2011
Migrating geese to guide wind farm plans
The potential impact of wind farms on barnacle geese has led experts at WWT to fit GPS satellite tags to five birds to determine their precise movements as they migrate. The five tagged geese will set off on their migration from Scotland to Norway any t
3 May 2011
Spring rarities at WWT centres
As spring has progressed we’ve been seeing an increasing number of rare bird visitors to our reserves. The months of April and May are great for spotting returning migrants from Africa and other hot climes. Birds are also busy singing to attract mates
3 May 2011
BBC’s Wild Week Live coming from WWT Castle Espie in May
WWT Castle Espie is set to become the centre piece of a BBC Northern Ireland week-long broadcast event called Wild Week Live. The TV and radio extravaganza taking place at the end of May, which will celebrate the rich wildlife resident around Northern Ir
3 May 2011
Incubations continues
Our ospreys are happily incubating their two eggs on the nest today and no doubt enjoying the beautiful spring weather. The eggs were laid on the 19th and 22nd of April and it now looks unlikely they will be joined by a third egg this year, as it has been
2 May 2011
Nesting news
Spring has well and truly sprung at WWT Slimbridge. Species are so impressed by the weather that some very early clutches are being lovingly created in the undergrowth here there and everywhere. The African Yellowbills started the early egg trend on the 3
29 April 2011
Sand martins make a home in the Sir Peter Scott Sand Martin hide
The Sir Peter Scott Centenary Sand Martin Hide has its first pairs of sand martins in residence at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre. Two pairs of sand martins moved into the unique artificial nesting bank over the busy Easter weekend. The windows of the hide wi
29 April 2011
Thirteen calves born at WWT Martin Mere
13 long-horn calves have been born at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre, helping the Centre to traditionally manage the reserve. Martin Mere has a herd of traditional Long Horn cattle as they are ideal for grazing on wetlands and have been nicknamed ‘wetla
29 April 2011
WWT names Bewick's swan pair William and Kate after royal couple
Known for their lifelong monogamy, a pair of swans is the latest honour bestowed on the royal couple. Staff at WWT have been gripped with wedding fever and knowing that the couple have asked for no gifts and have a passion for conservation, we have named
28 April 2011
Surprise surprise, yes I have white-winged duck news!
Yay! With the earliest ever white-wing clutch in memory, my duckery female (ZSL/Exmoor origin) has started to incubate. The view a week ago showed a lovely collection forming in the soft compost in her nestbox, a full 3 weeks before her efforts in 2010.
28 April 2011
A Wizzy update
We had a fantastic bank holiday weekend at the Centre with almost 5000 visitors over the 4 days and I received nothing but positive comments as I walked around and talked to people. It has been mentioned to me that a number of people were also asking how
27 April 2011