News
Turning tides for waterbirds in the UK
In recent years, the UK’s estuaries and other wetlands have seen several notable changes in the birds using them. Little egret and avocet are now present in higher numbers than ever before, but familiar species such as ringed plover and dunlin are at al
24 August 2010
Svalbard expedition confirms hungry polar bears a threat to conservation success story
A Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) scientist just returned from Svalbard has confirmed that polar bears stranded on land in the summer months are devastating breeding barnacle goose populations as they roam the coastline looking for food. Conservation ef
17 August 2010
More Welsh birds in the red
The latest assessment of all of Wales’ 213 regularly occurring birds – Population Status of Birds in Wales 2 – shows 45 species are now of the highest conservation concern and have been placed on the assessment’s red list. Alarmingly, red-listed
11 August 2010
Latest discovery of world’s oldest living species raises hope of more across the UK
Two new colonies of a rare tadpole shrimp which date back over 200 million years have been discovered in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Scientists now think it’s possible that other colonies are going undetected in the UK because of the creature’s strange
29 July 2010
WWT begins breeding project to save endangered waders
WWT have begun work on a groundbreaking new project to perfect the process of breeding waders as part of our conservation breeding program. The project is currently focused on hatching and rearing two wader species - the ruff and the dunlin. Its goal is
28 July 2010
Last Chance to See presenter Mark Carwardine becomes WWT vice president
WWT is delighted to announce that Mark Carwardine, the co-star of BBC2’s Last Chance to See with Stephen Fry, has become our new vice president. The charity is thrilled to welcome Mark – a zoologist and keen conservationist with many accolades to hi
18 June 2010
Hungry polar bears threaten WWT conservation success story
Scientists from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) fear that hungry polar bears are jeopardising a conservation success story by feasting on the eggs of barnacle geese because melting Arctic ice is making seal hunting too difficult. According to resear
17 June 2010
2020Vision launches photography-based conservation initiative
April sees the launch of 2020Vision, Britain’s most ambitious photography-based conservation initiative ever! 20 of the country’s top wildlife and nature photographers have, for the first time, come together with leading conservation partners to docu
25 May 2010
WWT’s wildlife presenter YouTube competition winner announced
A wildlife artist from Shrewsbury has become the winner of WWT’s Be Your Favourite Wildlife Presenter YouTube competition. Ben Waddams, 25, impressed the judges – including TV’s David Bellamy and Bill Oddie – with his entertaining impressions of n
25 May 2010
Duckling days offer half term fun
If you are looking for the ahhh factor this half term head for the duckling days at National Wetland Centre Wales. Visitors during the week (Saturday 29 May to Sunday 6 June) can have the chance to go on a behind the scenes tour of the hatchery and ducker
24 May 2010
First crane chicks hatch ready for release into wild
The first eight crane chicks destined to be released into the wild later this year as part of the Great Crane Project have successfully hatched at WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, just a few short hours after an epic 17 hour road trip from Germany. The
27 April 2010
First osprey eggs laid at Caerlaverock
The Caerlaverock Ospreys have laid their first eggs of the season. Visitors watching the live CCTV images on the big screen at Caerlaverock on Friday 23 April couldn’t believe their eyes when the female osprey sat down deep in the nest for a few minute
27 April 2010
Wildlife lovers get your wellies at the ready!
Enjoy a mud treatment with a difference at the National Wetland Centre Wales next month. Pull on your wellies to take part in a mud safari taking you to some of the less accessible parts of the reserve during low tide. Walk on parts of the stunning reserv
23 April 2010
Cranes, boats and planes - Great Crane Project hit by air travel chaos
Plans to bring back the eggs of wild cranes for a project to re-introduce the birds to Somerset have been hit by the air travel ban. The eggs are being collected in Germany as part of the Great Crane Project run jointly by RSPB, Wildfowl & Wetlands Tr
19 April 2010
Fears for whooper swan as it disappears into volcanic cloud
Whooper swan Y6K, which is being tracked using satellite technology, seems to have flown into difficulty on its return migration to Iceland. It was last recorded at 10.46 this morning (Friday) heading towards the cloud of ash from the Eyjafjallajökull v
16 April 2010