Washington news
UPDATE: five fluffy flamingo chicks
The first of the five chicks (look carefully under the wing of the adult on the nest!). They are getting bigger and stronger by the day Our Chilean flamingos have now successfully hatched five fluffy chicks, following
17 September 2014
Dying ducklings of world’s rarest bird need new wetland home
First ever captive bred madagascar pochard named Voholany (c) Idris Bhatti WWT The first ever study of the world’s rarest bird – the Madagascar pochard – has revealed that 96% of its chicks die before fle
26 August 2014
First flamingo egg in seven years laid at WWT Washington
[gallery ids="40481,40482,40483,40484"] A Chilean flamingo egg has been successfully laid at WWT Washington Wetland Centre – the first in seven years. It was spotted on a nest yesterday (Monday 28 July) and its arrival marks the culmination of a pioneer
29 July 2014
PENtland staff live up to their name with volunteer task
Staff from Pentland Distribution Services (PDS) got to grips with an unused bird pen to help spruce up the stream area at WWT Washington. The PDS volunteers worked alongside Daniel Barker, our grounds and facilities manager, to safely remove the large-sca
24 July 2014
Helping to save the world's rarest bird
Floriot Randrianarimangason The man charged with daily care of the world’s rarest bird, the Madagascar pochard, is at WWT Washington Wetland Centre next week for intensive training with some of WWT and the world’s
23 July 2014
Moth count on a soggy Sunday
[gallery ids="40048,40049,40050,40051,40052,40053,40054,40055"] Despite the wet conditions, our moth trap still produced 46 species and approx 150 individuals this morning. Not bad going! Quite a few flew off before we had the chance to photograph them b
13 July 2014
Habitat creation receives funding boost at WWT Washington
WWT Washington Wetland Centre’s mission to bring local people together with inspirational wetlands and wildlife has received a welcome funding boost. WWT Washington’s reserve manager John Gowland accepting the award fr
3 July 2014
Moth mornings
Elephant hawkmoth Fancy seeing beautiful moth species such as this elephant hawk-moth up close? Our warden Andrew will be opening his moth traps to the public on Sundays 6 and 13 July at 10.30am, so why not come along
26 June 2014
Playscape is here!
Playscape climbing frame Get your favourite ‘playing out’ clothes on and be the first to explore WWT Washington’s exciting new play area for FREE next week! Fun for ages 2 to 10, Playscape is designed to spark c
19 June 2014
Dragonflies and damselflies
There are dragonflies and damselflies aplenty on site at the moment - a sure sign that summer is here (although the weather some days tells a different story!). These pictures were taken at the Pondzone area, where a school on a day trip were lucky enough
19 June 2014
Orchids in bloom
Bee orchid in the grounds An orchid survey is underway across WWT Washington’s reserve and some of the meadow results are back in. This year, Forgotten Meadow has 758 Northern marsh orchid and 14 common spotted orch
15 June 2014
VIDEO: roe deer courtship
This brief clip of two roe deer flirting at our saline lagoon was caught by a camera trap. The buck and doe briefly nuzzle right at the start and then he saunters off as she follows behind, having fallen under his spell. If you look carefully, he’s ado
12 June 2014
VIDEO: wading chicks growing up fast
Oystercatcher chick and adults Wader Lake June 2014 Oystercatcher, avocet and redshank - oh my! Wader Lake's chicks are growing up fast, with six avocets due to fledge any day now, grey heron juveniles learning to fis
11 June 2014
Otter health check
Musa and Mimi. Photo by Annie Lee. Musa and Mimi, our Asian short-clawed otters, are due to have their annual health check on Friday 13 June (but fear not, they ain't superstitious!). During their medical MOT, they'll
3 June 2014
Say hello to new life this spring
After one of the mildest winters on record; days are getting longer, buds are bursting into bloom and across our wetlands, woodlands and nature reserve, new life is starting to stir. A Hawaiian goose guards it mate on a ne
13 March 2014