News
Lead poisoning - Government announces decision
The Government has rejected a stakeholder group’s recommendation that lead ammunition should be phased out on account of its risk to wildlife and human health. A key aspect for WWT is that wildfowl often ingest poisonous lead pellets, left on the groun
14 July 2016
Wetlands and leaving the EU 2, the sequel
Post by Peter Morris, WWT's Head of Public Relations & Campaigns Our Wetlands and leaving the EU blog following the EU Referendum result received a lot of good feedback from people who appreciated a bit of informed light commentary rather than heavy p
12 July 2016
Success at Russian breeding grounds lightens grief over chick deaths
Thirty spoon-billed sandpiper chicks have been hatched by conservationists in Russia over the weekend. The good news follows the tragic death last week of the world’s first captive-bred spoon-billed sandpipers. The Russian chicks have been hatched from
12 July 2016
Award for Schools Environment Project
Hollickwood Primary School children get planting![/caption] A project in which schoolchildren help to reduce flooding and pollution, while learning about wildlife, has won a major national environmental award. The project was run across 10 schools in N
7 July 2016
Sad news for spoon-billed sandpipers
These are the only critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper chicks ever bred in captivity, but sadly neither survived for more than 60 hours. Each weighed only a few grammes and was barely bigger than a bumble bee. (c) Ben Cherry / WWT Seven eggs wer
5 July 2016
Wetlands and leaving the EU
The EU funds many research projects, including WWT's work to slow a 50% decline in red-breasted geese numbers. Blog post by Peter Morris, WWT's Head of Public Relations & Campaigns: The impact of leaving the EU on
30 June 2016
WWT becomes a formal partner on the Ramsar Convention
WWT became a formal partner of the global convention for wetlands – the Ramsar Convention – earlier this month. WWT Chief Executive Martin Spray joined Acting Secretary General of Ramsar, Ania Grobicki, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that plac
28 June 2016
Cranes pushed to the edge by floods on the Somerset Levels
A flock of cranes that ended up at the centre of a once-in-200-year flood has given researchers a rare insight into how wildlife copes with extreme weather. The cranes’ progress was being tracked by researchers from the University of Exeter, the Wildfo
27 June 2016
Dragonfly Hotspot attracts an amazing giant LEGO® brick dragonfly called Emily!
WWT Caerlaverock is set to become a Dragonfly Hotspot in partnership with the British Dragonfly Society (BDS). In celebration, a giant LEGO brick sculpture of a dragonfly will visit us during the summer, alongside its living counterparts. The world’s m
21 June 2016
New behaviour seen in rare wading birds
A ménage-a-trois between breeding black-tailed godwits has been witnessed for the first time ever by staff at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Norfolk. Staff monitoring the rare birds at WWT’s Welney reserve, one of only two places in the UK
16 June 2016
Eggs mean fresh hope for spoon-billed sandpipers
One of the world’s rarest birds has a new hope: it’s laid eggs in captivity for the first time. Seven eggs have been laid so far by two spoon-billed sandpipers at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, UK. The flock wa
14 June 2016
Soil is as important as air and water
Soil sampling Blog post by Hannah Freeman, Chair of Blueprint for Water and WWT's Government Affairs Officer: We are dependent on healthy soils. Our soils are not only valuable for growing the food we eat; soil qualit
13 June 2016
Happy birthday Your Majesty
Prince Harry chats with WWT supporters WWT supporters joined our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, for an official birthday lunch in the Mall with supporters of all the charities who benefit from her support. At WWT we l
13 June 2016
Flamingo "school disco" research wins gold for WWT
It's beneficial for flamingos to scrap over their nesting area. It makes them feel possessive and gives them ownership of a nest mound. Research revealing the complex social life of the flamboyant flamingo has won a s
9 June 2016
From backbenches to Brussels and back again
The story of nature’s champions: Blog post by Richard Benwell, WWT Head of Government Affairs wraps up the EU Referendum, Private Members Bill and a 25 year plan for nature: Drawing by Wolfgang Ammer, published in New St
7 June 2016