News
The thaw begins
Sunshine and some rapid thawing today. Rushy Bewicks Swan 276 Teal 226 numbers building as the thaw sets in. Pochard 180 Pochard X Feruginous 1 Tufted Duck 70 Pintail 82 Buzzard 1 Redshank 1 Grey Wagtail 1 Whitefronted and Bean Geese The flock is feeding
24 January 2013
Recent Sightings
Sightings from the 13th January have included: 212 Brent on the Estuary with 546 Shelduck. Main Lake – 178 Mallard, 16 Tufted Ducks, 4 Little Egrets, 4 Gadwalls, 5 Coot and 64 Black Headed Gulls. Saline Lagoon – 2 Little Grebes. Peninsula Saltmarsh
24 January 2013
Todays Sightings
Wader Lake/Saline Lagoon 100% Frozen Hawthorn Wood Greater Spotted Woodpecker - 1 Nuthatch - 1 Siskin - 12 Bullfinch - 19 Coal Tit - 9 Blue Tit - 17 Great Tit - 11 Long Tailed Tit - 10 Robin - 5 Dunnock - 2 Blackbird - 4 Other Birds Fieldfare (Sout
24 January 2013
Snow makes birds bolder in hunt for food
Notes and photos from a Jan 20 2013 The water near the Ramsar and Sand Martin hides is frozen over - just small areas of water remain open in the centre. Birds crowd the water here making counting difficult. Today I arrived early to see the 27 Bewick’s
24 January 2013
Latest Sightings
Whooper Pond Whooper Swan 200 Mute Swan 60 Wigeon 110 Tufted Duck 70 Teal 20 Pintail 1 (drake) Gadwall 5 Shoveler 10 Canada Goose 30 Greylag Goose 30 Pink-footed Goose 1 Folly Pond GREEN-WINGED TEAL (adult drake) Whooper Swan 4 Teal 150 Shoveler 5 Wigeon
24 January 2013
WWT welcomes lead poison review
WWT has welcomed the Government’s announcement to review the progress of the Lead Ammunition Group, of which WWT is a member. The Group was set up in 2010 in response to urgent concerns about the toxic effects of ammunition made of lead, which is a pois
24 January 2013
Wildlife sightings for 24th January 2013
1 Smew - sheltered lagoon 60 Wigeon - marsh 1 Bittern - (reported) 110 Fieldfare - on marsh and amongst sheltered lagoon trees a.m., some moving W+SW 50 Siskin - moving across whole reserve 3 Redpoll - with Siskin flock along the south route 4 Meadow
24 January 2013
Slimbridge in the snow - VIDEO
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPcXfNu4L8'] Just before the snow melts we wanted to share some of the images of our birds in the snow. More vulnerable species were moved to warmer places and others were provided with hay and extra fee
23 January 2013
Today's sightings
Fieldfare by Jane Rowe Main lagoon Bewick's swan - 8 flew on to the main lagoon at 3.10pm today and remained through the swan talk before moving on just before the swans were fed. Snipe - 2 Black-tailed godwit - 1 Rin
23 January 2013
Red-throated diver
A red-throated diver has just been spotted heading from the River Wear onto Wader Lake! They usually winter on the coast so it has most likely been forced up river by the extreme cold snap. We don't have a pic but here's a link to some nice ones we found
23 January 2013
Today's sightings- Snow Bittern
The Bittern showed well again this afternoon out in the snow. Photo copyright JSLees WWT The Zeiss Hide BITTERN 1 Showed very well this afternoon Grey Heron 1 Water Rail 2 Cetti's warbler 1 The Willow Hide Water Rail 1 Showing very well Bullfinch 2 Cha
23 January 2013
Winter Birding
Another chilly one. Nevertheless the local roads are fine and the Nature Trail paths free from ice. A good count of 1370 Whooper Swan on the reserve this morning. Other counts included 340 Pintail, 490 Wigeon, 700 Teal, 27 Gadwall, 55 Pochard, 12 Tufted a
23 January 2013
Highest count of the winter at Slimbridge!
Yesterday we counted 276 wild Bewick’s swans on Swan Lake at Slimbridge, the highest count of the winter so far! This already surpasses last winter’s top count of 198 birds and the five-year average of peak counts for the reserve (242 birds). As the c
23 January 2013
Nene releases at Slimbridge.
Nenes in the corral I love Nene. Their Hawaiian time keeping means that their January breeding season keeps me entertained in a period of the year dominated by cloudy mornings and drizzle. As ever then, and just in ti
23 January 2013
Latest Sightings
Whooper Pond Whooper Swan Mute Swan Wigeon Tufted Duck Teal Pintail Gadwall Shoveler Canada Goose Greylag Goose Pink-footed Goose Folly Pond GREEN-WINGED TEAL Whooper Swan Teal Shoveler Wigeon Shelduck Avenue’s and Trails Yellowhammer Reed Bunting Tree
23 January 2013