Wildlife spotting hints and tips
How to make the most of your visit when it comes to wildlife spotting
For many of us, spotting wildlife is a key part of a visit to WWT Washington. Our hides are definitely a favourite place to rest and enjoy the action on Wader Lake, Hawthorn Wood and our saline lagoon. But there are lots of other places to see wildlife too, should you prefer to enjoy viewing from outdoor areas. Below are some hints and tips on how and where to see the various fauna that calls our wetlands home!
Woodland birds
Hawthorn Wood hide is nestled on the edge of the woods and enjoys fantastic views of various birds including greenfinch, reed bunting, great-spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, long-tailed tit, bullfinch and many more. Our feeders are topped up regularly and many birds flit and forage around the trees and on the ground for food. Now is a good time of year to spot numbers building ahead of the colder weather.
The Lookout is a large, open bird-spotting screen hidden in middle wood. This is about 100m walk from our much-loved Hawthorn Wood hide and offers just as much wildlife action. Bullfinch, great tit, coal tit, willow tit, chaffinch, robin, nuthatch, great-spotted woodpecker, dunnock, long-tailed tit and many seasonal highlights happily flit around this area, providing fantastic photography opportunities with regularly topped-up bird feeders and natural perches, as well as some peaceful time in nature.
Our centre feeders – just outside the building’s exit doors to the east of site – are regularly visited by many species of woodland bird including bullfinch, great tit, chaffinch, dunnock and more. It can get quite busy, with opportunistic sparrowhawk even known to descend upon the area to hunt.
Hollowood is a haven for woodland birds too. While many visitors use it simply as a walk-through to other areas, if you take the time to stop and listen, you can hear so much calling and song, and you begin to notice that the trees are bustling with life. Treecreeper, wren, blackbird, robin, collared dove and wood pigeon are often around and can be both heard and seen.
The relaxing sound of the stream happily trickling through Spring Gill woods and the surrounding meadows is not the only audible treat here. Many birds frequent the tree tops with jay squabbling, blackbird calling and smaller woodland bird species noisily gathering.
South Wood is the area of trees near the dragonfly and amphibian ponds and is a great place to see goldcrest, with reed bunting and willow warbler making appearances too.
The footpath along Wader Lake provides refuge for many smaller birds.
Waders and water birds
Wader Lake wildlife hides offer a fantastic place to watch wading birds, with incredible views of the shingle islands and heron hedge from the Paddy Fleming and Diageo hides. Close up views of black-tailed godwit, snipe, various sandpiper, teal, the occasional little egret and many more water birds are not to be missed at this time of year! Northumbrian Water hide overlooks the lake with Wader meadow right beside it where many geese and red-listed lapwing spend their days, while the Prince's Trust hide offers a quieter choice with sandmartin and swallow regularly flying by.
Window on the Wear affords great views of the river Wear, with goldeneye, goosander, grey heron, cormorant, curlew, redshank and various sandpipers often spotted by the shoreline. Mute swan can be seen and kingfisher too; their vibrant blue plumage speeding along just above the water's surface. High tides sometimes bring Eurasian otter sightings, as well as the odd grey seal, so watch out for those.
The area around our River Viewpoint (just along from Northumbrian Water hide) has lovely views up to the saline lagoon and downstream towards the coast. During low tide, you may see tracks in the mud just below the railings, quite often belonging to otter. Waders like to make the most of the exposed mud, with species such as curlew, redshank and black-tailed godwit using their longer bills to hunt for invertebrates and crustaceans beneath the surface.
Saline Lagoon hide is a great spot to sit and enjoy this unique habitat and its incredible wildlife. At this time of year, the lagoon welcomes teal, shoveler and shelduck. We also have a 'look-through' area just beside Lagoon View hide, providing even closer views of the scenery on offer, should you wish to enjoy from outdoors.
There are so many amazing wildlife moments to be had during our autumn months and we’re sure you’ll discover even more than we can mention here. So why not pay a visit and make the most of nature on your doorstep!
