Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)
 

National WWT News

Turf!

Posted on 30 April 2011 by Phoebe Young @ Slimbridge

I have been super lucky this spring, as the team all came together whilst I was away in Madagascar and beyond to re-turf our rearing ponds!

With a few bacterial problems rearing their heads in 2009 and 2010, it was decided to invest in a complete replacement of turf, topsoil and silt trap. We were a bit nervous to go ahead because despite the obvious problems; our B-Ponds are the pride and joy of the Duckery as they are forever green, effortlessly plush, and the envy of quite a few visitors every year.

Despite this, December rolled round and we broke out the shovels. It became very evident early on that doing it by hand would be impossible, so a hired digger soon made short (but horrendously messy) work of digging out the old medium.

When the topsoil arrived it completely and utterly blocked the yard. This shot shows just one of the FOUR deliveries we received!

Our grounds manager Nathan professed an adept hand at turfing; originally claiming 40 mins per pond. After bets were taken in relation to this the claim was quickly changed to 60 mins per pond. As it turned out, 2 (annoyingly sunny) days later, they were finished!

Trust the weather to jump into a heatwave the second we lay turf… We have been starting up a pump-driven sprinkler system early morning and evening for a fortnight in order to get the fresh turf to root. Typical WWT; none of the sprinkler heads rotated and so the boys stood and fought with (Oh I mean fixed them) a good few times before leaving for the night! A hard job well done :-)

Crossed finger for plush grass, no curled edges and a successful breeding use in 2011.

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Nesting news

Posted on 29 April 2011 by Phoebe Young @ Slimbridge

Spring has well and truly sprung at WWT Slimbridge. Species are so impressed by the weather that some very early clutches are being lovingly created in the undergrowth here there and everywhere. The African Yellowbills started the early egg trend on the 30th March, sitting down on a clutch of 7 lovely eggs before I was even really back to work from Madagascar! As the species becomes more and more endangered in the wild through hybridisation with the common Mallard, it becomes even more important for us to represent them within the collection. With 6 ducklings already hatched, an unknown clutch under mum and a surrogate clutch of 7, 2010 looks set to be (or at least early on) the year of the African Yellowbill.

Our naughty little Laysan teal are laying also but I am currently foxed as to entirely where! She has made several little bowl scrapes in the pen but as yet none of the ones I have discovered have contained anything. I can only assume she is on the offensive in order to distract me! As heavy as she is with eggs she must have laid several by now… They are also a species with which WWT has a vested interest. WWT’s Nigel Jarrett once went out to Midway Atoll to help with the introduction project there. It is a species that with WWT’s 60+ year memory that has increased from the low 40′s to 700+! As individuals they have exceptional character and are a great favourite with families as they run squabbling around push-chairs and eating out of your hand. With a modest 6 bred in 2010 it would be refreshing to improve on that in 2011.

Lastly the little Red Argentine Shoveler has made a lovely nest in her breeding area. With our aging flock in the South American beginning to look a little silver-feathered around the edges, I would love to bolster our numbers with some young blood. Her partner is very spirited in his defence strategy and I hold high hopes for a fertile brood. They are a species at Slimbridge that without a story of struggle and disappearance of any sort, kind of get lost amongst the rabble. Please hunt them out however; because with their delicate cinnamon and black polka dots and pale sky-blue eye, they are in my opinion one of the most beautiful birds we keep!

Other species looking hot are the Ashy-headed geese, Black Brant goose, Hooded Merganser and South Georgian Pintail. Keep tuned!

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Sand martins make a home in the Sir Peter Scott Sand Martin hide

Posted on 29 April 2011 by WWT Arundel

The Sir Peter Scott Centenary Sand Martin Hide has its first pairs of sand martins in residence at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre.

Two pairs of sand martins moved into the unique artificial nesting bank over the busy Easter weekend.

The windows of the hide will be closed while the birds are nesting to limit noise from people in the bird hide that could disturb them.

“Our highest visitor numbers of the year were recorded over the Easter weekend but this didn’t put off the sand martins from moving in. Maybe noise won’t be as big an issue for them as we thought,” said Paul Stevens, WWT Arundel Grounds Manager.

On Saturday 23 April both pairs of sand martins were spotted hovering outside the pre-made, sand-filled nesting holes on the right side of the two winged hide.

On Sunday their interest shifted to the left side where they are now entering and leaving the same two individual nesting chambers.

“The sand martins have spent at least 30 minutes in these holes which leads me to think they are nesting, possibly already laying eggs,’’ said Paul Stevens.

The sand martins hollow out a space in the chamber sand, then line it with grass and feathers.

The four to five eggs they lay will take two weeks to hatch. They will raise two broods between May and September.

Behind each of the 300 nesting holes is a removable wooden door leading to a viewing area.

“Once the eggs have hatched we will open these small doors for a peek at the nest to see how the broods are progressing. I will have to be patient until then,” added Paul Stevens.

The Sir Peter Scott Centenary Sand Martin Hide opened in April 2010 in plenty of time to be investigated by the martins migrating to Africa last autumn.

“It was crucial that the martins see it on their autumn migration.’’

Research suggests that young sand martins search a 10-15 mile radius from existing colonies when looking for new nesting opportunities on their autumn migration.

“We hoped to attract sand martins looking to expand from colonies at Storrington and Washington,” said Paul Stevens.

Timeline

  • Nov 2009 – construction begins on new hide to mark the centenary of WWT founder Sir Peter Scott, funded by public donations
  • April 2010 – the Sir Peter Scott Centenary Sand Martin Hide opens to the public.
  • September-October 2010 – sand martins spotted visiting the area of the hide on their autumn migration
  • April 23, 2011 – first sand martins spotted investigating the nesting holes on the hide
  • April 24, 2011 – two pairs sand martins seen leaving and entering specific nesting holes on the hide

Sand martin facts

  • Sand martins often do not slow down to enter their chosen nest burrow but shoot in quickly.
  • They lay 4-5 eggs that take two weeks to hatch and raise two broods a year.
  • The young will generally return to the colony they were born in, only moving on when there are no more nesting sites in the colony or they have the urge to explore new sites.
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Thirteen calves born at WWT Martin Mere

Posted on 29 April 2011 by WWT Martin Mere

13 long-horn calves have been born at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre, helping the Centre to traditionally manage the reserve.

Martin Mere has a herd of traditional Long Horn cattle as they are ideal for grazing on wetlands and have been nicknamed ‘wetland lawnmowers’. Their hoof marks leave perfect hollows in the ground for birds such as lapwings and redshank to nest in and they graze by leaving tuffs of grass which double up as shelter and safety for the chicks, especially when birds of prey are hovering above. Additionally, the manure attracts a variety of insects and worms that the chicks will feed on when they are born.

Centre Manager, Andy Wooldridge, said: “Cattle are very important in the way we manage and maintain the reserve and it has been another excellent breeding season for the Centre. It is great that visitors can learn about how we manage the reserve by watching the cattle graze from the hides, and the calves are always popular to view”.

Management of the Martin Mere reserve is supported by Natural England under an Environmental Stewardship Scheme as part of the Rural Development Programme for England. Other reserve management techniques such as haymaking and seasonal water control have meant that Martin Mere is a best practice reserve in the country, recently being awarded high level countryside stewardship because of the way we encourage the number of BAP species which use our 550 acres of reserve.

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A ‘new born’ update

Posted on 28 April 2011 by WWT Martin Mere

Andy’s absence I thought I would give you a quick update on all the new borns at the Centre.

The first brood of ducklings have hatched in the nursery: African Yellow Bills, so there should be plenty of ducklings in the nursery for when it opens on 28 May. There are also 18 Greater Flamingo eggs and in the next couple of weeks we should have a webcam on the nest site so that you can see the young chicks.

We also have 13 Long-horn calves on the reserve.

Victoria Fellowes, Marketing Manager

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WWT names Bewick’s swan pair William and Kate after royal couple

Posted on 28 April 2011 by WWT

Known for their lifelong monogamy, a pair of swans is the latest honour bestowed on the royal couple. Staff at WWT have been gripped with wedding fever and knowing that the couple have asked for no gifts and have a passion for conservation, we have named a pair of our famous Bewick’s swan visitors William and Kate.

Dave Paynter, of WWT said: “The parallels with the royal couple are obvious. Like them the beautiful Bewick’s swans are really loved by the public. And like their namesakes, we hope William and Kate become icons for conservation.

“Swans are famous for pairing for life. William and Kate have been a pair since 2005 and are always within a few metres of each other.

“They are very faithful and very loyal to each other. After meeting their partner, Bewick’s, like all swans, develop a strong bond and stay with each other all the time, which is very endearing.

“We have seen similarities in William and Kate that lead us to believe that the real royal couple will be just as happy as our ‘William and Kate’.”

William, an 18 year old male Bewick swan has been returning to WWT Slimbridge every year since his first appearance in 1995 and since 2005 with Kate, an eight year old female.

Both swans departed for Russia from the Centre on 24 February, and it is hoped that both will return this winter, happy, healthy and ready to raise a family.

Martin Spray, Chief Executive of WWT said: ”The royal family has a long standing association with swans and WWT. On a visit to Canada in 1950, the then Princess Elizabeth accepted a gift of several trumpeter swans, which came to be cared for at WWT’s headquarters at Slimbridge. The Queen is currently Patron to the Trust and Prince Charles is the current WWT President.”

Bewick’s swans are the smallest and rarest of the three species of swan found in the British Isles. Every year they fly thousands of miles from their breeding grounds in the Russian Arctic to spend the winter in the UK.

Bewick’s are threatened due to habitat loss and illegal shooting and are of conservation concern.

The Bewick’s swan study was started in February 1964 by Sir Peter Scott, when the first wild Bewick’s swans were attracted to a lake in the Rushy Pen at Slimbridge.

Peter and his family took a very close interest in the swans. By drawing each swan’s bill pattern (which is unique to each individual), a detailed study of the species began which continues to this day, making it one of the longest running research projects of any single species in the world.

This also makes these birds almost as closely watched as the royal family.

Sir Peter Scott started the swan adoption programme in 1966, and WWT are calling for the public to adopt 1,000 swans before they return to Slimbridge for the winter migratory season.

For more information on Bewick’s swans, or to adopt a swan, please visit our adoption pages. All adopters receive a fluffy toy swan – a little royal souvenir of their own.
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Surprise surprise, yes I have white-winged duck news!

Posted on 28 April 2011 by Phoebe Young @ Slimbridge

Yay! With the earliest ever white-wing clutch in memory, my duckery female (ZSL/Exmoor origin) has started to incubate.

The view a week ago showed a lovely collection forming in the soft compost in her nestbox, a full 3 weeks before her efforts in 2010.

On Saturday 16th she had a clutch of 7, and it remains to be seen on her 10 day check-up what total she reached. My girl is back in business!

Sadly however it has not been all fun and games. On her third day of incubation her partner (an 8 year old Slimbridge old-timer) passed away, leaving her alone in the pen.

I have no idea if he has been able to fertilise her clutch, and so a waiting game has now begun to see whether he performed. If there is just one fertile I will just HAVE to call it Nemo…

This death marks for me a small validation if you like… When I started my white-wing efforts in 2009 we had 5 original birds at Slimbridge left. The death of this male marks the day that the species would have been lost had it not been for our recent efforts.

Other pairs are looking good too. Her brother is making merry with a Slimbridge female in the pen next door, with 5 pearly eggs currently buried deep within her box.

An old girl from Jersey/Paignton Zoo is cuddling up with a 3 year old SL original, but it remains to be seen whether that at 15 years of age she can quite be um… bothered!

Crossed fingers too for Washington and Llanelli who also have prospective breeding pairs.

With a pair of juveniles going to London and Bristol Zoos, it is exciting to see the species make a comeback in the zoo community.

With birds suddenly springing up for sale on the continent also, the species look good to re-saturate the private sector as well. Hurrah!

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Still two eggs

Posted on 28 April 2011 by WWT Caerlaverock

The ospreys are still basking in sunshine and we still have a clutch of 2 eggs. It has been quite difficult to see what is actually going on in the nest cup due to the mounds of grass and sticks that the female has heaped up at the edge of the nest. Today AW took his turn on the nest for almost 2 hours over lunchtime before his mate took over again, when he stood up we could clearly see at least 2 eggs, the very dark almost brown first egg and the more speckled second egg.

With the increased daylight and sunlight hours we now have enough solar power to beam live CCTV images to the visitor centre from 10am till we close at 5pm.

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Sand martins

Posted on 28 April 2011 by Liv Iles @ Arundel

They’ve arrived!

Two pairs of sand martins were spotted using the Sir Peter Scott Centenary Sand martin hide on Saturday 23rd. I was off that day but Pat, our Marketing Manager, was in and she sent me a text to say they had been seen. She also called Paul, our Grounds Manager, and you can imagine how excited he was! The idea of creating a hide incorporating the nesting chambers was suggested by Paul over two years ago when the former Sir Peter Scott hide was highlighted in our zoo license inspection as needing replacement and he was involved in the project from start to finish.

The project completed last Easter and we were a little over optimistic in hoping that sand martins would nest in the first year. The London Wetland Centre has a sand martin bank and they did have a few pairs in their first year however I think the project completed at a different time.


Sand martin bank at LWC by Anne & Chris Algar

There are some large local colonies in quarries and sandpits and sand martins actually nest at Storrington where some of the sand for the hide render was sourced. The hide was still drying out during mid to late April when the birds were migrating to the UK from Africa so although some interest was shown, none of the birds were seen entering the chambers. Paul did not lose heart, he said that hopefully the juvenile martins born that year would notice the hide on their migration out of the country and we would hopefully lure them in the spring (I know I duplicated ‘hopefully’ but we’ve been hoping a lot!).

Paul had mentioned that he was going to play some sand martin calls to attract the birds coming in this year. In late March, early April, we started to hear about sand martins being spotted in the area and had a couple of sightings in the reserve. I started to become a bit of a pain regularly asking Paul ‘are we playing the calls yet’? He assured me that these were just an early few and the bulk of the migrating birds would arrive in mid April. So, in early to mid April Paul started playing some sand martin calls (quite scratchy and screechy) and we waited…

… and waited…

Paul told me yesterday that he had started to get a little bit nervous that we were coming to the end of the month and no major interest had been shown so he felt huge relief and excitement when we heard the news that two pairs had been seen entering the chambers. We were both working on Sunday and Paul had a grin on his face all day after seeing the birds for himself first thing in the morning. I was acting as car park attendant as we were short staffed but when I finished at 2.30pm we went out to the sand martin hide in hope of a view. The birds have been using chambers very close to the windows (which are closed to minimise disturbance) so we lined up on the stools waiting for a glimpse. Our ‘guide in a hide’ volunteers were in the hide during the day, pointing the birds out to visitors who have never seen these agile little birds at such close quarters. The north wind has picked up over the past couple of days which has limited activity but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll see them soon.

The birds have been spending increasingly long periods of time in the chambers which hopefully indicates they are planning to nest, rearranging the sand into a suitable burrow. They start breeding very quickly in order to fit in two broods and apparently the young from the first clutch sometimes hang around to help feed the second lot. Once the birds are settled and have hatched eggs Paul will be able to replace the wood at the back of the chamber with glass to enable us (and hopefully visitors) to quietly peer into the chamber.


Sand martin by James Lees

The LWC bank quickly colonized as the birds returned year on year. Just the sight of two pairs using the hide is apparently spectacular so I can’t even imagine the spectacle of 300 pairs!

I’ll keep you updated on any developments.

Best wishes and enjoy the wedding!

Liv

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A Wizzy update

Posted on 27 April 2011 by WWT Martin Mere

We had a fantastic bank holiday weekend at the Centre with almost 5000 visitors over the 4 days and I received nothing but positive comments as I walked around and talked to people. It has been mentioned to me that a number of people were also asking how Wizzy the beaver is getting along so I thought I would give you a quick update. He is very well – digging, swimming and building his own lodge. He does like this time of year as there is lots of fresh willow for him to eat. His legs has not gotten any worse though which is a positive and I would love to see him in his own area one day in the grounds so that our visitors can enjoy seeing him.

I am off for the next 4 days as it is my birthday tomorrow so I thought I could have a well deserved rest after last weekend. The centre is all geared up for this weekend so hopefully it will be busy again, but I shall be back on Tuesday. Victoria, the Marketing Manager, will put things on the diary over the next few days.

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