News - Washington
Success for flamingo solar power bid
Oh wow. You’ve only gone and done it! Our bid for vital M&S funding to install solar power to our flamingo house has been successful and we quite literally couldn’t have won it without you! The public response to our rallying cry for votes was sim
15 November 2017
Penshaw Monument glows pink for flamingos
Glowing pink despite heavy fog ICONIC NORTH EAST MONUMENT GLOWS PINK IN SUPPORT OF NEIGHBOURING NATURE RESERVE WWT Washington Wetland Centre is turning National Trust property Penshaw Monument pink for a second night
20 October 2017
It's all about the trees
If you've visited us recently you might have noticed some of our trees getting a bit of a haircut. Just as a garden needs constant maintenance and care to thrive, so do our woodlands. When WWT Washington first opened its doors more than 40 years ago there
11 October 2017
These aren't just flamingos… these could be M&S-funded flamingos…
A flamingling explores the water at WWT Washington Wildlife lovers are being urged to help secure funding to create Europe’s first solar-powered flamingo house at Washington Wetland Centre and encourage its flock to
1 October 2017
Reserve ramblings - how to spot a kingfisher
How to spot a kingfisher at WWT Washington... After a few months in hiding (or raising kingfisher chicks... we're hoping it's the latter) we've had increased and almost daily sightings of kingfisher down on the saline lagoon, predominantly on the
14 August 2017
Your summer adventure awaits...
Have you planned your summer adventure at WWT Washington? We have an exciting array of events and family activities taking place this summer. So whether you fancy getting stuck into finding great diving beetles, water boatman and other wildlife that live
24 July 2017
Kids make a colourful splash at inspirational new wetland garden
An award-winning sustainable water garden designed to inspire and educate has opened at WWT Washington Wetland Centre. Part raingarden and part outdoor classroom; our colourful new ‘Working Wetland garden and Waterlab’ demonstrates how you can better
21 July 2017
It's habitat management time
We have almost 6 hectares of meadows on our site, home to a huge range of flora and fauna so meadow management is an essential part of our Reserve Management plan. Our meadows must be cut every year and we’re about to start this process. There are so
20 July 2017
Will you be a Wildlife Ranger this summer?
Dusty Duck is back at WWT Washington this summer and he's more adventurous than ever! Will you take up his challenge and become one of Dusty’s Wildlife Rangers? Dusty Duck is recruiting children of all ages at WWT Washington Wetland Centre this summer t
7 July 2017
What's in a name? Introducing our baby otters!
What’s in a name? Well, more than you would realise when it comes to baby Asian short-clawed otters… The four new cubs - Buster, Irene, Shirley and Rita - with their older siblings, mam and dad. Pic by Ian Henderson.
15 June 2017
Ramblings of a Reserve Warden
Reserve warden David Dinsley is no stranger when it comes to birds, and his passion is clear with the latest project at Hawthorn Wood. In the first instalment of #ReserveRamblings, it's over to David to tell you more… The willow tit is a declinin
13 June 2017
New feathered friends at Washington Wetland Centre
In order to ensure the success of our conservation breeding programmes, one of our aims is to keep populations of birds as genetically diverse as possible. Every year we identify birds that we may need to pair, or colleagues at other centres within the WW
16 May 2017
Bat box survey results
Our friends at Durham Bat Group joined us at the weekend to carry out a spring bat box survey across site – and would you look at what we found! This fine-looking male Soprano Pipistrelle was roosting in one of the boxes near the river. Quite fi
5 May 2017
Hawthorn hide revamp
Hawthorn Wood feeding station and hide will be closed on Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 May. This is so that we can give it a good spring clean and make some minor improvements. So what’s involved in a spring clean of a feeding station? Well, we need
2 May 2017
Artist of the month - Alison Edwards
This month’s exhibitor Alison Edwards combines her artistic flair with her love of the natural world in a diverse display showcasing watercolour, gouache and pencil skills. After studying Natural History Illustration at Sunderland Poly in the late eigh
30 April 2017