News
Celebrations as 'punk duck' numbers rocket
Conservationists in Gloucestershire are celebrating record numbers of a duck with a very unusual ‘hairstyle’. The Tufted duck gets its name from the way its feathers grow with a punk-rock style tuft of them sweeping down the back of its head. A whoppi
25 January 2011
Model boat and train show
The Centre has had a fantastic weekend. It was the Model Boat and Train Show and even though I wasn't scheduled in for work I did pop over to check that everything was running smoothly (I can never resist living on site). Amazingly on Saturday we had 832
23 January 2011
Snowdrops and birdsong...is spring around the corner?
This cluster of beautiful snowdrops is just one of the signs that spring is round the corner in Gloucestershire. The wardens at Slimbridge Wetland Centre are always on the lookout for sights and sounds of the different seasons. Reserve warden James Lees t
20 January 2011
Spot the scaup and unseasonal sightings
For the past week or so a female scaup has been feeding on the reserve among the large numbers of tufted duck (see the photo taken here by Paul Gregory). Like the tufted ducks, these are diving ducks. They generally overwinter in the seas around UK coast
18 January 2011
Swans enjoy the floods!
There have been spectacular views of the swans on the reserve over the past few days as 200 have been making the most of the flooded scrapes on the reserve, alongside over 6,000 wigeon and nearly 600 white-fronted geese! The reserve is a nature lovers par
18 January 2011
PR and radio interviews
We have been working a lot with BBC Radio Lancashire recently. Last Thursday we had the afternoon show with John Gillmore live from the Centre and I did 2 interviews as well as a vast array of staff being interviewed, and Brett from the drive time show al
18 January 2011
Your wetland needs you!
Castle Espie Wetland Centre, outside Comber is currently recruiting for new volunteers. If you fancy embarking on something new in 2011 and are interested in wildlife, wetlands, history and people there are vacancies in administration, marketing, events,
12 January 2011
Hail the fisherman
The Graffan Gallery at Castle Espie Wetland Centre outside Comber in County Down, is the venue for Hail The Fisherman, (29 January – 13 February), a collection of work by Irish painter Cliona Fox. Primarily a painter, Dublin-based Cliona regularly under
12 January 2011
A day outside
I have spent the day helping the outside team today. They are still struggling since the cold weather and they have an amazing amount of work to do includinig catching up the birds that we are still treating for frost bite every two days for treatment. So
12 January 2011
Hazardous conditions
For anyone visiting Caerlaverock today, please take great caution when driving to the reserve. After the heavy fall of snow yesterday, we have had heavy rain all night which has melted through the snow as leaving sheet ice and black ice everywhere. The ro
10 January 2011
Almost 1000 Twitter members
It should be an exciting this week as we curerntly have 985 followers on Twitter and I hoping to reach the 1000 mark. Our Twitter account is WWTMartinMere and we provide wildlife updates as well as details of what is happening at the Centre - so please,
10 January 2011
A very exciting adventure...
Hi all, sorry for the blogging silence but I have been sent to Madadgascar!! A team of staff from WWT – along with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and The Peregrine Fund and the Government of Madagascar – have been working to reverse the fort
7 January 2011
Another poor breeding season
A co-ordinated count of adult and juvenile swans across the UK and the continent in mid-December has shown that the Bewick's swans have had another poor breeding season. Only 10.5% of the 7,275 birds aged between 16 and 21 December were youngsters (WWT/W.
7 January 2011
Model boat and train show at WWT Martin Mere
Its full steam ahead at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre this month as we host our Indoor Model Boat and Train Show on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 January 2011. All the family will be entertained by local model boat and train societies as they bring a vast ar
7 January 2011
Bittern watch
Many of our visitors have been spotting bitterns on the reserve over the past week - some for the first time! Up to five have been confirmed on one day, and we're hoping the bittern released here on Christmas Eve is still out there. One of our regular vis
4 January 2011