Sightings - Welney

Aerial filming of WWT Welney

Aerial filming of WWT Welney

Very few people get to see a bird’s eye view of our wetlands for real. But thanks to our local aerial filming specialists Sky Vertical we’ve captured some fantastic clips of the landscape for you to enjoy. This clip shows you the visitor centre, Lady

28 January 2017

Sightings for Friday 27th January

Sightings for Friday 27th January

Misty start but cleared during the day, water levels remain at about 65% flooding, all hides remain open apart from Allport hide. Sightings today: Whooper swan Bewick's swan Mute swan White-fronted goose Goldeneye Mallard Pochard Teal Tufted duck Wigeon M

27 January 2017

Water rail winter viewings

Water rail winter viewings

Water rail by Ray Mathias Easier to spot in cold weather, the secretive water rail has been out on show this week.  These brilliant views were from the North Wing Hide (luckily this is right next to our heated hide).

27 January 2017

Glaucous gull - winter visitor

Glaucous gull - winter visitor

Glaucous gull by Ray Mathias When the marsh harrier is away, the gull.....gets its lunch?  This glaucous gull is a winter visitor to the UK.  Even this youngster is huge in size, it is worth checking through the gul

26 January 2017

Sightings Thursday 26th January

Sightings Thursday 26th January

No fog this morning but a very cold wind so wrap up warm if visiting today, all hides remain open apart from Allport, lots of Whooper swans and Wigeon can be seen from the Wigeon cafe.   Sightings today: Bewick's swan Whooper swan Egyptian goose Whit

26 January 2017

Sightings Wednesday 25th January

Sightings Wednesday 25th January

All hides remain open apart from Allport hide. Sightings today: Bewick's swan Whooper swan Mute swan White-fronted goose (8 on lady fen) Goldeneye Pochard Teal Tufted duck Shoveler Wigeon Water rail Black-tailed godwit Redshank Snipe Kingfisher Green wood

25 January 2017

Interesting tail fanning behaviour in snipe

Interesting tail fanning behaviour in snipe

Snipe tail fan display Kim Tarsey Fanning in winter; surely it’s too cold for that?! Look at these snipe fanning their tails to one another on the ice. It is very unusual to see this, let alone film it, as snipe ar

25 January 2017

Festival of Swans - Sunday sightings

Festival of Swans - Sunday sightings

A glorious start to the day with our swans awake an amazing experience watching thousands of swans on the washes wake up preen and some flew out.  Many have remained infront of the hides due to the ice so come down and see them. Highlights Glaucous gull

22 January 2017

Sightings Saturday 21st January

Sightings Saturday 21st January

Water levels are up to 90% but all hides apart from Allport remain open.   Sightings today: Bewick's swan Whooper swan Mute swan White-fronted goose Egyptian goose (Grey morph) Goldeneye Pochard Pintail Shelduck Shoveler Teal Tufted duck Wigeon Coot

21 January 2017

Sightings Thursday 19th January

Sightings Thursday 19th January

All hides remain open apart from Allport hide, Water levels have started to rise and are now at around 90%. Water has just started to appear on the footpath near reedbed hide so suitable footwear is advised, all other paths are free of water. Sightings so

19 January 2017

Sightings Wednesday 18th January

Sightings Wednesday 18th January

Water levels are about 50% and all hides remain open apart from Allport hide. Bewick's Swan Whooper swan Mute swan Canada goose Egyptian goose Greylag goose White-fronted goose Glauc Great crested grebe Pochard Pintail Teal Tufted duck Wigeon Great white

18 January 2017

Wetland Bird Survey at Welney

Wetland Bird Survey at Welney

The wardens here had a fantastic day today going around the whole reserve to count every bird on site! Here is a list of their totals: (numbers in brackets are from our Lady Fen area) Great crested grebe- 5 Cormorant- 14 Great white egret- 1 (1) Littl

17 January 2017

Dawn swan count

Dawn swan count

Sunrise over WWT Welney This morning we conducted our January swan count and found there to be 2,413 Bewick's swans and 2,385 whooper swans on the WWT section of the Ouse Washes.  This means that Bewick's swan number

17 January 2017

Today's Highlights

Today's Highlights

Glaucous gull-north of Friends hide Great white egret-Lady fen Little egret Barn owl Kingfisher-by café window Teal Wigeon Pochard Shoveler Gadwall Shelduck Tufted duck Pintail Goldeneye Whooper swan Bewick's swans-100+ in front of Lyle and Friends hides

16 January 2017

Sightings for Sunday 15th January

Sightings for Sunday 15th January

Not the best of days as it remained wet and overcast all day, but there were a good number of swans in for the feeds, all hides apart from Allport remain open and water levels are around 45%. Sightings for today: Bewick's swan (88 at Lyle hide) Whooper sw

15 January 2017