News
Helping to save the world's rarest bird
Floriot Randrianarimangason The man charged with daily care of the world’s rarest bird, the Madagascar pochard, is at WWT Washington Wetland Centre next week for intensive training with some of WWT and the world’s
23 July 2014
Moth count on a soggy Sunday
[gallery ids="40048,40049,40050,40051,40052,40053,40054,40055"] Despite the wet conditions, our moth trap still produced 46 species and approx 150 individuals this morning. Not bad going! Quite a few flew off before we had the chance to photograph them b
13 July 2014
Habitat creation receives funding boost at WWT Washington
WWT Washington Wetland Centre’s mission to bring local people together with inspirational wetlands and wildlife has received a welcome funding boost. WWT Washington’s reserve manager John Gowland accepting the award fr
3 July 2014
Moth mornings
Elephant hawkmoth Fancy seeing beautiful moth species such as this elephant hawk-moth up close? Our warden Andrew will be opening his moth traps to the public on Sundays 6 and 13 July at 10.30am, so why not come along
26 June 2014
Playscape is here!
Playscape climbing frame Get your favourite ‘playing out’ clothes on and be the first to explore WWT Washington’s exciting new play area for FREE next week! Fun for ages 2 to 10, Playscape is designed to spark c
19 June 2014
Dragonflies and damselflies
There are dragonflies and damselflies aplenty on site at the moment - a sure sign that summer is here (although the weather some days tells a different story!). These pictures were taken at the Pondzone area, where a school on a day trip were lucky enough
19 June 2014
Orchids in bloom
Bee orchid in the grounds An orchid survey is underway across WWT Washington’s reserve and some of the meadow results are back in. This year, Forgotten Meadow has 758 Northern marsh orchid and 14 common spotted orch
15 June 2014
VIDEO: roe deer courtship
This brief clip of two roe deer flirting at our saline lagoon was caught by a camera trap. The buck and doe briefly nuzzle right at the start and then he saunters off as she follows behind, having fallen under his spell. If you look carefully, he’s ado
12 June 2014
VIDEO: wading chicks growing up fast
Oystercatcher chick and adults Wader Lake June 2014 Oystercatcher, avocet and redshank - oh my! Wader Lake's chicks are growing up fast, with six avocets due to fledge any day now, grey heron juveniles learning to fis
11 June 2014
Otter health check
Musa and Mimi. Photo by Annie Lee. Musa and Mimi, our Asian short-clawed otters, are due to have their annual health check on Friday 13 June (but fear not, they ain't superstitious!). During their medical MOT, they'll
3 June 2014
Say hello to new life this spring
After one of the mildest winters on record; days are getting longer, buds are bursting into bloom and across our wetlands, woodlands and nature reserve, new life is starting to stir. A Hawaiian goose guards it mate on a ne
13 March 2014
Cygnets hatch in spring sunshine
Two black swan cygnets have hatched overnight in Close Encounters. The fluffy siblings are already out on the water and have been spotted learning to clean and preen themselves by mimicking their parents.
10 March 2014
Hide disturbance (19 March)
There will be some disturbance at Hawthorn Wood hide on Wednesday 19 March, as our reserve warden and a team of volunteers tidy up and improve the bird feeding station outside. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause you and hope you enjoy
9 March 2014
Spring has sprung (images)
[gallery ids="36958,36956,36955,36959,36960,36961,36962,36963,36965"]
4 March 2014
Avocet on Wader Lake
The first avocet of the season arrived on Wader Lake on Sunday 23 February, a whole week earlier than the previous site record of 2 March (in 2012). Avocets have bred at WWT Washington since 2006 and last year, four pairs successfully fledged 12 young bet
24 February 2014