Welney news
Flooding update
Due to recent rains and snow melting along the Great River Ouse, the Ouse washes is currently flooding to depths where it effects our hides. Unfortunately Reedbed hide is now closed, and all hides excluding the main observatory will require wellies. Water
30 December 2017
Welney Sightings
Whooper swan Mute swan Bewick's swan Black-tailed godwit Mallard Wigeon Tree sparrow Reed bunting Pintail Pochard Lapwing Little egret Teal Shoveler Tufted duck Moorhen Coot Pied wagtail Greylag Canada goose Golden plover Cormorant Stirling Rook Magpie Ma
21 December 2017
Bewick’s swans slow to arrive this winter
Bewick's swans by Julia Eyles Swan counts have revealed that numbers of Bewick’s swans are very low for this point in the season at WWT Welney Wetland Centre. The most recent count carried out in December has show
19 December 2017
Swan arrivals
Whooper swan family Jane Rowe Whooper swans have been arriving in good numbers over recent weeks, and a dawn count this week has revealed that we now have 2,400 at WWT Welney. We also have 24 Bewick's swans so far,
14 November 2017
A dance of cranes
Crane flock by Tony Orwell This week we have been treated to a group of around 30 cranes using the reserve and surrounding farmland. This post-breeding flock of birds includes four families alongside adult birds.
26 September 2017
Celebrity Dusty Duck Trail arrives at WWT Welney
Celebrity Dusty Duck Trail This week the Celebrity Dusty Duck Trail has arrived at WWT Welney, ready for visitors to enjoy from Sat 16 September until Sun 29 October. World famous Aardman studios designed Dusty Duck t
14 September 2017
Willow emerald damselfly - New jewel to spot on reserve
Willow emerald damselfly by Kim Tarsey A damselfly species which is a relative newcomer to the UK has been spotted at WWT Welney Wetland Centre. The willow emerald damselfly has become more and more widespread
7 September 2017
Goat moth caterpillars
Goat moth caterpillar This month there have been lots of reports of goat moth caterpillar sightings around the reserve. Goat moths are a scarce species in the UK and have been in decline since at least the 1960's. H
24 August 2017
Singing corncrakes
Corncrake by Hetty Grant Since late June we have had the sound of singing corncrakes on the reserve, as two males have been holding territories on the Ouse Washes at WWT Welney. These birds will soon be migrating to
2 August 2017
Yellow loosestrife bees
Yellow loosestrife bee by Georgette Taylor The reserve is alive with insects as we start to move beyond the main breeding season for birds, the flowers are out in bloom and the temperatures are (generally) that little
25 July 2017
Largest family to date for Icelandic swan pair
Whooper swan pair with cygnets by Kim Tarsey . A pair of injured whooper swans have hatched a brood of five cygnets this summer at WWT Welney Wetland Centre. The pair who first bred on the reserve in 2011 are u
6 June 2017
Wading birds hatch out summer chicks
Little ringed plover and chicks by Peter Ward . Despite the news that the black-winged stilt pair did not manage to successfully raise their chicks, there are other wading birds who are faring better on the re
4 June 2017
Black-winged stilts hatch chicks for first time at WWT Welney
Black-winged stilt pair with chick For the first time ever a pair of unusual wading birds, black-winged stilts, have chosen to breed on the reserve at WWT Welney Wetland Centre. This species of bird has been a vagrant
31 May 2017
Where do the waders go?
Greenshank by Ann Karin Gaasland Each season brings us different birds to see on the reserve, some travelling North from Southern Europe and Africa to spend the summer with us and some travelling South from Northern E
29 May 2017
First chicks mark fresh future for rare fenland wading bird
In a UK first, 26 fluffy black-tailed godwit chicks have been hatched by conservationists in the Fens this week. The rare chicks will be hand-reared until they are strong enough to be released back into the wild. Black-tai
12 May 2017