Washington Wetland Center – October 2019

Posted in Adventures, animals, birds, Fuji, FujiX-T2, nature, wildlifeTagged , , , , , , ,

After we’d visited NELSAM we still had a couple of hours of daylight so decided to visit WWT Washington Wetland Centre as it was only up the road from the museum and is always good for birds and otters.

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust started out in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, and was set up by Sir Peter Scott, (son of Scott of the Antarctic).  Peter became an Olympic sailing medallist and a well-known painter and broadcaster. He created the IUCN red list which measures whether species are threatened or endangered. He was the founding chair of WWF – and even drew their famous panda logo.

The Trust is all about conservation of endangered species, and their mission is to save critically endangered species from extinction, work with communities around the world who depend on wetlands and inspire people to take care of nature.

There are 9 WWT’s across the UK and we are lucky enough to have one near Sunderland. I’ve done a few posts on this blog from the WWT but there’s always something new to see.

I think this is Purplepore Bracket (Trichaptum abietinum) fungus.

There is a pair of Black Swans at Washington, they have white wing tips and red bills with a white stripe on them.

Black Swan
Fun guys

We were very excited to see a kingfisher, as neither off us had seen one in the flesh before

Kingfisher
Kingfisher with fish catch

Further up in that part of the lake a heron was also fishing

We went to see the asian short clawed otters at feeding time

It is a member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of the weasel family (Mustelidae), and is the smallest otter species in the world. Its paws are a distinctive feature; its claws do not extend beyond the fleshy end pads of its partially webbed fingers and toes. This gives it a high degree of manual dexterity so that it can use its paws to feed on molluscs, crabs and other small aquatic animals. The Asian small-clawed otter inhabits mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands in South and Southeast Asia. It lives in extended family groups with only the alpha pair breeding; offspring from previous years help to raise the young. Due to ongoing habitat loss, pollution, and hunting in some areas, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

The breeding programme at Washington is very successful and when the litters of the main pair grow up they are sent to other wetlands to diversify the gene pool.

Then we went to see the flamingos, my faves, but walked past the geese first,

telling off, & not listening 🙂
Mr.Pink
Beady Eye

The weather was deteriorating at this point so that was the end of our day out, but stay tooned to see where we end up next time!

all pics are clickable to embiggen.

Full album HERE

29 thoughts on “Washington Wetland Center – October 2019”

  7. Sir Peter Scott was Chancellor of Birmingham University when I graduated, so I have shaken his hand.

    That looks like an interesting place. It must have been a great thrill to see a kingfisher.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
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