News
Otterly exciting weekend
An otterly exciting day was had at WWT Washington Wetland Centre yesterday with first birthday celebrations for Asian short-clawed otter Ruby. Ruby, named in celebration of the centre’s 40th anniversary last year, was born on 22 May 2015; the first cub
23 May 2016
New hide brings wildlife and people closer
A specially designed hide introduced to bring wildlife and people closer together has now opened. The new 16-sided, accessible hide was officially opened last week by Zelda Baveystock and WWT’s CEO Martin Spray, along with other funders and local counci
10 May 2016
Sighting 8/5/16
Wader Lake (Time/AM Tide/Low) Common Sandpiper: 1 Avocet: 18 Gadwall: 8 Shoveler: 3 Lapwing: 20 Common Tern: 21 Little Ringed Plover: 2 Saline Lagoon (Time - AM Tide - Low) Shelduck: 3 Gadwall: 2 Tufted Duck: 4 Oyst
9 May 2016
Incredible journey to save the Bewick's swan
Celebrities lead support for first ever lone female expedition to save swans Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir David Attenborough head a list of hundreds of businesses, charities and individual supporters throughout Europe and Russia who are ge
26 April 2016
Wild otters show encouraging behaviour
Newly installed otter holts on the River Wear alongside WWT Washington Wetland Centre have had some encouraging signs of use following their installation last year. The work was funded by Sunderland City Council as part of their New Wear Crossing Proje
15 April 2016
Otterly adorable update
The latest image of one of the quadruplets taken at 27 days old. We've been keeping a close eye on our otter cubs here at WWT Washington Wetland Centre since they were born at the beginning of the month, and we're ple
30 March 2016
It's quadruplets for popular otter pair
The excitement has quadrupled for the WWT Washington Wetland Centre family as four Asian short-clawed otter cubs arrived safe and sound! The new arrivals were born on 3 March to Mimi and Musa, the award-winning wetland centre’s popular otter pair. The
16 March 2016
Regionally rare wading bird returns
Regionally rare avocets have begun their annual return to a North East wetland reserve. WWT Washington Wetland Centre welcomed the first of its iconic wading birds of the season on 4 March – just 10 days later than the site’s previous record of 23 Feb
4 March 2016
Otterly exciting news
Remember when our Asian short-clawed otter Little Squeak was only this big and we were all excited about her safe arrival!? Well, we’re feeling (cautiously) excited again because this morning (Thursday 3 March) we entered the holt area at 8.30am and hea
3 March 2016
March art exhibition
Looking for a unique and original Mother’s Day gift for a mam who’s a bit arty? Our current exhibition by Alison Edwards features a number of beautiful watercolour, gouache and pencil pieces, plus some pastels and photographic prints, priced from £7
29 February 2016
Breeding bird update
Each year our reserve manager John produces a Breeding Bird Survey Summary, detailing the successes and stories of the key wild bird species that have bred here on site. The 2015 results are now in and highlights include seven nesting avocet pairs, in wha
24 February 2016
Will you make a champion splash!?
Grab your wellies, round up the kids and jump right into the North East Puddle Jumping Championships this February half-term – part of WWT’s Big Splash! No matter what the weather or your puddle-jumping abilities, we’re urging families to get outdo
27 January 2016
Close Encounters revamp underway
An exciting revamp of our Close Encounters exhibit is underway! Eider ducks Our duck hand-feeding area is now temporarily closed to visitors as it undergoes a long-awaited facelift. As well as draining and desilting t
11 January 2016
Boost for wild otters thanks to council funding
L-R: WWT Washington Wetland Centre Reserve Manager John Gowland with Sunderland City Council Leader Councillor Paul Watson and Project Manager for the New Wear Crossing for the council Kristian Haagensen. Numbers of w
7 December 2015
Work begins on Lagoon View Hide
Now here’s a word you don’t use every day: hexadecagon. The design for the Lagoon View Hide, which will be a hexadecagon shape with 16 sides It sounds a bit like an ungainly Transformer and would probably get you
17 November 2015