Wetland wildlife
Lucy Lapwing shares her love of mini-wetlands
Wetlands are the watery habitats such as ponds, rivers and marshes that are essential for wildlife. In fact, freshwater wetlands support more life per square kilometre than any other type of habitat. But the UK has suffered devastating wetland loss over hundreds of years. We’ve lost 75% of our wetlands in the last 300 years.
24 August 2023
A birdwatching code of conduct: How to respect our wetland nature while still getting the most out of your birdwatching experience
We’ve pulled together some useful tips on how to get the most out of your birding, while still protecting and respecting the birds and wetlands you love.
24 April 2023
Welney Sightings 05/10
A bright but windy day at Welney, group of Whoopers on Lady Fen
5 October 2022
Migration record breakers
Bird migration is a death-defying feat, but some birds have turned this yearly event into something of an extreme sport. Here are just some of the species pushing the limits of what’s possible while migrating from their wintering to breeding grounds and
20 April 2022
Surviving winter: How we give wildlife a spring start
As our overwintering birds get ready to fly back to their breeding grounds, or start to pair up and build their own nests, we take a look at some of the ways our reserve team have kept them safe and healthy over winter, to give them the best chance of br
4 April 2022
Welney sightings 7/9/21
Some great highlights around the site again today.
7 September 2021
Wetlands throughout the seasons: summer sights
As the mercury rises and the long days draw out over our wetland landscapes, we know that summer is here. Spring bird migration is over but we’re now in the thick of new life emerging, with some real jewels to be seen. Even the smallest pond can be a
15 June 2021
A spotlight on wetland wildlife - April 2021
April started with warm temperatures but northerly winds soon set in and brought cool air and very little rainfall. This resulted in our wetlands experiencing different weather to recent springs, with bird migration not quite as early as it would have bee
17 May 2021
Migrations series – How do birds know where to go?
Migrating birds follow predictable routes. These routes are well known; we call the one that brings wintering birds to our shores the Northwest European flyway and the one that brings summering birds the East Atlantic flyway. You can’t see them, but they
6 May 2021
Waterlife photo competition - 2020 results
Here are the results of our annual 2020 Waterlife photo competition, where you can see the full shortlist of the best of our entries. Every year we run our Waterlife photo competition for members and this year, despite the challenge of not being able t
21 April 2021
Curlew sightings are a sign of hope for 2021
Glimpses of young curlew give encouraging signs for the 2021 breeding season, although it's still early days for the declining curlew.
19 April 2021
Five wetland plants with secret superpowers
Plants are the structural foundation of wetlands, supporting a range of life. They also have some amazing and unexpected qualities. Yet they are often under-appreciated.
12 April 2021
How to tell the difference between frog and toad spawn
Have you spotted any frogspawn yet? Whether it’s in a local pond or your own back garden it’s always an exciting moment. Along with daffodils and birdsong it’s one of the first signs that spring is here. We know it can be hard to tell exactly what is wha
12 March 2021
10 Biodiversity success stories from WWT Reserves in 2020
2020 was a tough year, but the results are in and we’re delighted to report that we have some stories of conservation optimism to share with you. Head of Reserves Emma Hutchins takes stock and reflects on the highlights of 2020 at our ten WWT wetland sit
9 March 2021
A spotlight on wetland wildlife - January 2021
We’re back with our first reserve roundup of 2021 and we find ourselves well and truly in the middle of winter. If you've missed our reserves, here's your chance to enjoy some winter wildlife virtually.
28 January 2021