The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) was founded in 1946 by Sir Peter Scott. Originally named the Severn Wildfowl Trust, and confined to Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, it has since expanded to a membership of 200 thousand and into nine centres throughout the UK, with one in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the rest in England.
The total area of WWT wetlands comprises twenty square kilometres and includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Areas for Conservation and five sites of international importance under the Ramsar treaty. The main aim of the Trust is to save wetlands, which contain 40% of the world’s species yet are among the most threatened on the planet. To this end, it carries out breeding programs for rare birds, engages in projects in many countries and publishes the results of scientific research.
Washington Wetland Centre
Situated just south of the A1231 road, which links the A1 with the A19, Washington Wetland Centre opened in 1975. The Coast-to-coast cycle route passes the centre, so cycle racks are provided in the car park for cyclists who wish to break their journey here. There is access for disabled people and free wheelchair hire.
A short descent from the car park brings one to the Visitor Centre, to be welcomed by a shop, a café that provides fresh food and a discovery area filled with interactive exhibits designed with younger visitors particularly in mind. East-facing windows look out over a stream and the first of the wetland areas, occupied by Eurasian cranes, a small flock of resident barnacle geese and a scattering of ducks.
Water Bird Enclosures
A footpath runs south-west to the Close Encounters enclosure, which is populated by several varieties of non-native waterfowl, many of which belong to threatened species. These include eiders, mandarins, wood ducks and ruddy shelducks, Hawaiian, bar-headed and swan geese, and black swans. Visitors can approach close to these fowl, while children are encouraged to feed them by hand, from bags of grain purchased in the shop.
Continuing on the circular footpath, one passes more, smaller enclosures that afford glimpses into other types of wetland and the kind of birds that dwell there. Freshwater marsh, flooded forest and reed swamp areas contain such rarities as whistling ducks, ringed teals and white-headed ducks, while one enclosure is devoted entirely to a flock of flamingos.
Feeding the Otters
Where the path swings back for a return to the Visitor Centre, is a pen occupied by two Asian Short-clawed otters. The smallest of the world’s otters, these normally live in family groups of up to a dozen. Their wild habitats are the wetlands and mangrove swamps of southern India, southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines. They are very lively creatures with voracious appetites, and at 11 am and 3 pm, visitors can enjoy the spectacle of their feeding times.
Wildlife Habitats
From the Close Encounters and otter enclosures, footpaths lead away into the surrounding areas, which are reserved for wild birds, both resident and migrant.
South of Close Encounters are the reedbeds, which make up a significant 1.5% of the county’s total. These provide a natural water treatment system, in which bacteria and fungi destroy pollutants and sewage is filtered. They are also an excellent habitat for amphibians and invertebrates, such as dragonflies and damselflies.
The Hollowood habitat has been created to demonstrate the importance of dead and decaying wood. 40% of all woodland life depends upon dead wood, and in fact a dead tree supports more life than a living one. This includes the fungi and beetles that eat the wood and the many predators and parasites, spiders, wasps, millipedes and flies that lead up the food chain to birds, such as woodpeckers and tawny owls that nest in holes in dead trees.
Bird Observation Hides
Passing a reservoir, one reaches the Hawthorn Wood hide, which gives a grandstand view over a bird feeding station, which is frequented by large numbers of birds, from many varieties of tits and finches, including the very colourful goldfinches and bullfinches, to tree creepers, nuthatches and great spotted woodpeckers.
The southern footpath follows a fence along the bank of the River Wear. In these reaches, the river is tidal, and when the water level is low, the footprints of otters may be seen in the mud. Otters themselves are less likely to be seen, but such is the proximity of the coast that seals occasionally venture this far upstream.
On the other side of the track is Wader Lake, the largest of the pools. In addition to providing nesting sites for resident birds, this also acts as a re-fuelling stop-over for migrants. Birds to be seen here, from any of the four hides, include lapwing, curlew, redshank, shoveller, widgeon, teal, shelducks and mallard. On the far side of the lake from the hides is one of the largest colonies of grey herons in the North of England.
The footpath carries on past other, smaller ponds, which are home to amphibians and dragonflies, then through a patch of old oak woodland and a series of wildflower meadows. Before the path returns to the Visitor Centre, children are given the opportunity to search for mini-beasts in a small dipping pond, or enter the Splash Zone, where they can investigate the transport of water using an Archimedes screw and a set of dams.
Future developments
Easter 2012 should see the opening of an educational Pondzone with more advanced dipping facilities, where school groups and families will be encouraged to become familiar with freshwater life.
An area between Hawthorn Wood and Wader Lake, at present known as Sandpiper Pool, is being reconstructed into a saline lagoon, linked to the river. Developing the fish population here will attract cormorants, kingfishers, grebes and goosanders. It is hoped that visitors will be able to watch otters feeding in the lagoon. This project is due for completion by Spring 2012.
Anthony Toole - I was born and brought up in the English Lake District, where I have walked and climbed for most of my life. I was educated as a scientist ...
