News
Meet The Team: Matthew Gilbert - Reserve Placement Student
At WWT Washington, our dedicated team works tirelessly to protect and enhance the reserve for wildlife and visitors alike. Behind the scenes, our Reserve Placement Students play a crucial role in conservation efforts, gaining valuable hands-on experience in the field. Meet Matthew Gilbert, one of our current Reserve Placement Students. Originally from London, Matt studied Ecology and Wildlife Conservation and has gained hands-on experience across various conservation organisations in the UK. Now, he’s bringing his skills to WWT Washington, where no two days are the same!
5 March 2025
Wildlife Sightings 4/3/25
Weather : OvercastRiver Wear Tide Level : High (down)Wader Lake SpeciesShelduck -18Tufted Duck -3(m) 4(f)Mallard -11(m) 2(f)Teal - 6(m) 4(f)Shoveler - 3(m)Gadwell - 2(m) 2(f)Oystercatcher - 4Lapwing - 9Herring Gull -96Black Headed Gull -72Greylag - 4Canad
4 March 2025
A celebration of Mimi the otter
What can we say about Mimi? After a short illness, we lost our Asian short-clawed otter matriarch Mimi last week. She was an incredibly important otter for conservation, as well as being much loved by our team and our supporters. To commemorate the loss
4 March 2025
Wildlife Sightings 3/3/25
Wader Lake Species Grey Heron- 34Teal - 13Tufted Duck -3Shelduck- 18Lapwing- 22Oystercatcher -4Herring Gull- 30Black Headed Gull-110Canada Goose -6Greylag - 2Hawthorn Wood Feeding AreaCoal Tit -2Long-Tailed Tit -2Bullfinch - 9Nuthatch- 1House Sparrow - 1R
3 March 2025
Wildlife Sightings - 03/03/2025
Weather : overcast River Wear Level: LowWader Lake Species AmGrey Heron ( developing) - 25 + 16 nests (nest building - new nest being take up, left sub-colony)Teal - 54Tufted Duck - 12Lapwing 19 (displaying and scraping behavior on the meadow)Shelduck - 4
2 March 2025
Wildlife Sightings 26/02/25
Weather : RainRiver Wear Level: LowWader Lake Species AmShelduck - 21Mallard -20Shoveler - 1(m)Oystercatcher-2Lapwing -21Black Headed Gull-32Herring Gull- 26Canada Goose - 2Greylag-2Grey Heron-3Moorhen- 3Coot-2Hawthorn Wood Feeding StationBlue Tit-6Chaffi
26 February 2025
Early signs of spring around our wetlands
It might still be chilly out there, but some early spring signs are already starting to appear around our wetlands. There’s something rather exhilarating about the arrival of this most hopeful of seasons; the natural world on the cusp of new life and n
26 February 2025
Wildlife sightings 25/05/2025
Wader Lake am, mid tideGrey Heron *prospecting 3 new nest sites, displaying breeding behaviour* 46 ( 1 juv)Shelduck 39Tufted duck 4Goldeneye 1 femaleBlack-headed gull 142Oystercatcher 4 (2 pairs)Iceland Gull 1 adultHerring gull 69Lapwing 10Shov
25 February 2025
Wildlife Sightings - 23/02/2025
Weather - OvercastRiver Wear Tide Level - midWader Lake SpeciesGrey Heron - 20Tufted Duck - 5Shelduck - 36Oystercatcher - 2Lapwing - 15Black Headed Gull - 40Hawthorn Wood Bird Feeding AreaLong-Tailed Tit - 5Coal Tit - 2Robin - 1Goldfinch - 5Bullfinch - 4N
23 February 2025
Wildlife Sightings - 22/02/2025
Weather - Sunny / windyRiver Wear Tide Level - highWader Lake SpeciesShelduck - 26Tufted Duck - 4Shoveler - 5M 2FGoldeneye - 2Mallard - 11Oystercatcher - 1Lapwing - 4Herring Gull - 57Black Headed Gull - 62Canada Goose - 13Grey Heron - 12Coot - 2Hawthorn W
22 February 2025
Wildlife Sightings 21/02/2025
Weather = Overcast/ WindyRiver Wear Tide Level = HighWader Lake Species Avocet - 1Greylag - 1Shoveler - 2 (M) 1 (F)Tufted Duck - 18Shelduck - 38Lapwing - 18Mallard - 15Black Headed Gull - 34Grey Heron - 10Herring Gull - 9Teal - 8Coot - 3Hawthorn Wood Bird
21 February 2025
Wildlife Sightings 20/02/25
Weather : OvercastRiver Wear Tide Level : MidWader Lake Species AmGrey Heron- 17Tufted Duck - 21Oystercatcher - 2Lapwing - 17Mute Swan - 1Shelduck - 5Teal -1Black Headed Gull - 12Herring Gull -15Hawthorn Wood Bird Feeding Station Long-Tailed Tit - 5Nuthat
20 February 2025
Wildlife sightings 19/02/25
Weather :OvercastRiver Wear Tide Level :HighWader Lake Species (Am)Mute Swan - 1Greylag -1Shoveler -1Tufted Duck - 1Shelduck - 11Lapwing - 18Oystercatcher - 1Iceland Gull -1Black Headed Gull -125Herring Gull - 137Grey Heron - 2Coot - 1Hawthorn Wood Bird F
19 February 2025
Wildlife Sightings - 17/02/25
Weather : OvercastRiver Wear Tide Level : MidWader Lake Species AmShelduck - 10Black Headed Gull - 70Lapwing - 25Canada Goose -2Grey Heron - 14Tufted Duck - 4Oystercatcher - 1Hawthorn Wood Bird Feeding AreaPheasant - 2Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1Robin - 2
17 February 2025
Wildlife Sightings - 16/02/2025
Weather : coldRiver Wear Tide Level : lowWader Lake SpeciesGrey Heron - 27 (seen collecting nesting materials, at least 10 nests occupied)Lapwing - 29Tufted Duck - 9Shelduck - 12Black Headed Gull - 31Herring Gull - 14Buzzard - 1 (perching on post on the m
16 February 2025