Wetland wildlife
Spring 2021
Spring is a brilliant time of the year when new life begins. It’s the perfect moment for you and your family to get outdoors and be inspired by nature.
15 March 2021
Storm Darcy forces Bewick’s swans to make rare migratory U-turn
A flock of Bewick’s swans which had begun their epic migration from Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire to the Arctic tundra have turned back to avoid the latest ‘Beast from the East’. Conservationists at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
12 February 2021
Winter brings its own special beauty to our wetlands.
As the centre is currently close, we have decided to show you, a bit of what is happening behind the scenes. Get a snapshot of our reserve management work and uncover the fascinating wildlife.
8 February 2021
Fall for nature’s spectacle at WWT Slimbridge this autumn
Just as wetlands offer sanctuary to thousands of animals over the colder months, they also make the perfect place to safely escape the everyday and appreciate one of nature’s greatest shows - autumn.
6 October 2020
Elroy in Estonia!
Spring has sprung and the Bewick’s swans are making excellent progress on their migration back to their breeding grounds in the Russian Arctic!
31 March 2020
WWT welcomes steps towards removing lead ammunition from the environment
WWT has welcomed a voluntary ban on the use of lead ammunition by UK shooting organisations. The new initiative means that hunters are expected to transition from lead ammunition in favour of non-toxic alternatives by 2025.
24 February 2020
International Swan Census: January 2020
Internationally coordinated censuses of the Northwest European Bewick’s swan population have been undertaken across the swans’ European wintering range at approximately 5-year intervals since 1984, with the next census scheduled for the weekend of 11/
8 January 2020
The Big Brood Count!
Around the weekend of 14/15 December the Swan Specialist Group held a co-ordinated count in Europe to find out how many cygnets were born this year. The NW European wintering population has been declining since the mid-1990s. To try to understand this dec
23 December 2019
Feeding in the fields
With winter in full swing, many Bewick’s swans have arrived at their wintering sites in northwest Europe. WWT’s centres provide some of the most important roost sites for the swans visiting Britain, with WWT Welney alone supporting more than 30% of Eu
11 December 2019
Start of winter brings first 'swanfall' at WWT Slimbridge
More than 50 swans have arrived at Slimbridge heralding the arrival of winter.
9 December 2019
Swan Special Issue
WWT is well known for carrying out research to help us better understand the threats faced by swans and how we can help. In October 2018 some of our scientists travelled to Tartu in Estonia for the 6th International Swan Symposium, a global gathering o
5 December 2019
Cold weather brings swan fall!
Dipping temperatures encouraged thousands more Bewick’s swans to push on with their migration through Europe over the weekend, triggering a ‘swan fall’ at Slimbridge! Numbers on the reserve jumped from 25 on Friday to 63 today which kept swan res
3 December 2019
Bewick's touch down at Slimbridge!
The first two Bewick’s of the winter have arrived at Slimbridge wetland centre fresh from the Russian arctic! The adult male was immediately recognised by its distinctive black and yellow bill pattern as a bird named Gastro by our researcher Steve Heave
13 November 2019
Which animals hibernate in the UK? And how you can help them
Find out how and why animals hibernate, how hibernation actually works, and which wetland animals use hibernation as a survival technique during winter in the UK.
28 October 2019
The leucistic goose – giant flocks and the glorious glitches within them
Barnacle geese visit the Solway each year in their thousands and amongst the flock are a handful of rare birds that are a result of a genetic flaw.
28 October 2019