Waterlife 213 July/Oct 2020

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The WWT magazine | 213 July/October 2020 | £4.25 | wwt.org.uk SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT

DANCES ON AIR THE BEAUTY OF DRAGONFLIES

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KIDS’ SUMMER SPECIAL

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BLUE CARBON

SUMMER MIGRANT BIRDS

PHOTO COMPETITION

HOW WETLANDS HELP US FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

OUR FAVOURITE SEASONAL WETLAND VISITORS

SHARE YOUR BEST WETLAND WILDLIFE PHOTOS TO WIN!

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Contents, 1

CONTENTS

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We’ve all missed peaceful views like this in recent months

Dench/WWT Sacha

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As Waterlife goes to print, we’re working to get all our centres back open – and we look forward to seeing you all soon. The Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged many of us to seek solace and joy in nature. We know that spending time in nature helps to counteract negative emotions, such as loneliness, anxiety and depression.

Scientists have shown that experiencing nature helps improve immunity, mood and feelings of wellbeing. It also reduces stress, and helps people feel less overwhelmed and more in control of their situation.

So, during lockdown, we worked hard to bring nature to you. Our social media channels were full of the hum and buzz of life on our reserves, and in this issue of Waterlife we focus on the elegant egrets (page 20), summer migrant birds (page 48) and dazzling dragonflies (page 22) we hope you’ll be able to enjoy on your next visit.

Thanks to your support during this difficult time, we’ve been able to continue some work on our reserves. A small number of staff have been caring for our animals, and this issue we’ll hear from one of our WWT heroes (page 66). As we’re beginning to welcome you back to our centres, we hope you’ll be inspired to enter your best photos in our annual competition (page 56).

While we all reflect on the importance of a healthy planet, our feature on wetlands and carbon is a timely reminder of how valuable natural habitats are in the fight against planetdestroying climate change (page 40). It’s clear that protecting nature has never been more urgent. So, with your support, we’ll keep fighting to protect precious wetlands everywhere.

In this issue...

4 6 16 20 22 31 40 48 56 58 61 66

Front lines Kevin Peberdy reflects on recent challenges and new hope Waterways The latest WWT conservation news from around the world On the reserves How we’re managing habitat for willow tits and invertebrates Spotter’s guide Learn to distinguish all the elegant egrets arriving in the UK Summer dragonflies How we’re welcoming these masters of the air Kids’ zone Explore wetland wonderlands through learning, fun and games Blue carbon Discover the vital role wetlands play in the carbon cycle Seven summer migrants Our pick of the top wetland birds to see right now Photo competition launch It’s time to get snapping to win a great prize Photo masterclass: nature in art How to get creative with your photography Wigeon post Your latest letters and the pick of your photos Back chat Meet one of WWT’s lockdown heroes, who cared for our animals

Do something amazing – LEAVE A GIFT TO WWT IN YOUR WILL The impact of your gift will be felt at your local WWT site in the UK, and around the world as part of our international conservation projects, protecting wetlands for the next generation.

To leave a gift in your Will, call our Legacy Manager, Lucy England, on 01453 891150 or visit wwt.org.uk/gifts-in-wills

WWT is the leading global conservation organisation committed to the protection of wetlands and all that live in and around them. WWT is the only UK charity with a national network of specialist wetland centres that people can visit. It was founded in 1946 by the late Sir Peter Scott, the renowned naturalist and artist.

HEADQUARTERS Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BT wwt.org.uk membership@wwt.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1030884 and SC039410 CENTRES For contact details, see wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres On the cover: Hoddinott/naturepl.com Ross

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WHY WE NEED NATURE

WATERLIFE The magazine of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Managing editor: Sophie Gore Browne waterlife@wwt.org.uk Editor: Sophie Stafford sophie.stafford@thinkpublishing.co.uk Chief sub-editor: Marion Thompson Designers: John Pender, Amanda Richardson Contributors: Amy-Jane Beer, Paul Bloomfield, Dominic Couzens, Stuart Jackson-Carter, Derek Niemann, David Tipling

Editorial board: Ray Clark, Hannah Clifford, Kate Dawson, Andrew Foot, Geoff Hilton, Baz Hughes, Rob Shore, Mark Simpson Sales executive: Jamie Dawson jamie.dawson@thinkpublishing.co.uk 020 3771 7220 Account director: John Innes, Think, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH thinkpublishing.co.uk

PEFC/16-33-1488

www.pefc.co.uk

Waterlife is published four times a year, and is printed by Walstead Group on Norcote Trend 70gsm, a PEFC accredited paper coming from well-managed forests and containing 40% recycled content. Views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of WWT. ISSN: 1752-7392 Average net circulation for the period Jan-Dec 2019: 90,576

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Kevin Peberdy, WWT Chief Operating Officer As I look back at January’s Front Lines, it brings to mind Robert Burns’ well-known line: The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.

We were looking forward to a super year for the environment. Ahead of us lay opportunities to make wetlands part of the global response to the climate and extinction crises. We had a plan – it may even have been our best-laid plan – to show policymakers and the public alike how our lives and our wellbeing are inextricably linked to the health of the wetland landscape around us. The rise in environmental concern gave us confidence that this was the

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opportunity for real and tangible change and we were ready to give it our best shot.

Then coronavirus hit. And all plans went very much a-gley.

As it became obvious the world was facing an urgent and alarming threat, we were forced to close our wetland centres.

As policymakers and public alike focused on the immediate problem of coming to terms with the pandemic, WWT – like many others – faced its own challenges to ensure we could get through it.

Even with the prospect of our sites closed and many of our conservation projects on hold, you, our members, stuck with us. We still have much to do to get back to where we were, but by helping us through the hard times, you have made it possible for us to have a future to plan. So thank you, each and every one of you.

At our centres, we continued to care for our animals and manage our nature reserves

‘We still have much to do to get back to where we were, but by helping us through the hard times, you’ve made it possible for us to have a future to plan.

Thank you!’ with a skeleton crew. But it hasn’t been easy for anyone. I’m fortunate to work with an incredibly dedicated team, and for many of them to not be able to do their jobs or their volunteering has been hugely upsetting.

Those that have stayed on to look after our centres have been under enormous pressure, working all hours and doubling up on jobs. Each situation has its own burden and it’s been humbling to see the team’s stoicism during this crisis.

Martyn Poynor/WWT

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FRONT LINES

Martyn Poynor/WWT

We’re delighted to be able to welcome people back to our wetlands after this extended period of lockdown. We’ve made some changes to help you stay safe. We’re asking everyone to book online, so we can limit visitor numbers and make sure there’s plenty of space for you all to enjoy our wetlands in peace and comfort. Find out more on our website, wwt.org.uk/visit

The conservation work your membership supports reaches far and wide. We managed to keep some of our vital projects going throughout the crisis to make sure we were able to hit the ground running when restrictions lifted. I am particularly excited about the work we’re doing to show how wetlands can reduce the risk of flooding to local properties, while providing homes for wildlife and that increasingly important wild open space for us too.

Recognising the situation we all found ourselves in – stuck at home, unable to visit our favourite wild places, and possibly taking responsibility for our children’s education – we quickly laid a new plan. We moved as much as we could online. I hope that many of you have signed up to receive our email newsletters and follow us on social media. And if you do, you’ve hopefully enjoyed the updates from behind the scenes and the stories of our conservation work.

Perhaps the biggest project we established under lockdown was turning the lessons that we run for school visits into home learning resources that parents could easily use with their own children. It’s been hugely popular and thousands of parents have been teaching their young families key stage and curriculum-linked lessons about water and wetlands. We hope you’ve found it useful.

The coronavirus pandemic has been horrendous for everybody, and personally devastating for many. But it has shown the world how we can deal with a crisis, so it’s time to turn our attention back to the overriding crises that we set out to tackle at the start of this year.

In this issue we look at the role of wetlands in locking away carbon and the contribution they can make to control the climate crisis. And behind the scenes we’re working closely with other wildlife charities to push the government to put the natural

environment at the heart of our recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. I hope you enjoy this issue.

It just leaves me to reflect on how so many significant life events have been overshadowed in the past few months.

I’d like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to Hugh Mellor, who passed away shortly before lockdown.

Hugh was formerly Chair of WWT and went on to be a Vice-President and on the board of our consultancy. He was a passionate conservationist and an astute businessman who facilitated the three-way deal between WWT, Thames Water and Berkeley Homes that resulted in the London Wetland Centre. He will be sadly missed.

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WATERWAYS NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE WORLD OF WETLANDS AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

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TURNING THE TOXIC TIDE

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The end of lead poisoning looks another step closer as leading members of the UK shooting community call for a voluntary ban on lead gunshot. This major success follows decades of campaigning by WWT and other conservation organisations.

In February, a coalition of nine leading UK shooting and rural bodies announced a call for their members to end the use of lead (and single-use plastics) in shotgun

Dead and dying birds are usually taken quickly by predators, making their deaths ‘invisible’. With our science, persuasion and push for policy change, we’re leading the way to end lead poisoning

ammunition for live quarry shooting within five years. The move, which reverses years of resistance to the use of non-toxic steel shot, comes at a time when there is greater awareness of the benefits of not using lead, and wider policy change is inevitable.

Lead poisoning has been recognised as a serious health risk for centuries – indeed, the ancient Romans were aware of the problem. But while this knowledge has been reflected in bans on lead in petrol and in fishing weights in the UK, only limited

Time for a change 1983 WWT research

1987 The UK government

reveals the extent of the problem of lead poisoning from shot.

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution recommends that the government should legislate the adoption and use of substitutes for lead shot.

bans lead fishing weights to prevent the poisoning of species such as mute swans.

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restrictions on the use of lead gunshot for hunting have been implemented. As a result, vast quantities of lead have been released into the environment year-on-year.

Gunshot that misses a target falls to the ground and is swallowed by birds such as swans, which consume pellets along with grains and grit to grind vegetation in their gizzards. In the UK, lead poisoning kills an estimated 50,000-100,000 wildfowl each winter and is responsible for one in four recorded deaths of Bewick’s swans.

1995 The international

1999 Following long-term

African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds Agreement calls on signatories to ‘endeavour to phase out the use of lead shot for hunting in wetlands by the year 2000’.

research and campaigning

by WWT, in England lead shot is banned over some wetlands, and for the shooting of waterbirds.

2002 Welsh regulations 1994 WWT continues to highlight the problem of lead poisoning to the UK government. Their conservation agencies start limiting the use of lead shot on land they manage.

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follow suit.

2004 Scotland restricts lead shot in wetlands.

2009 Northern Irish regulations follow suit.

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shot. Yet the idea to ensure was met with a collective reluctance by healthy future. the shooting To help achieve community. this, WWT’s This reticence Dr Julia Newth has continued, led an important One or two ingested lead fuelled by tradition, piece of social pellets can kill. Sometimes dozens are found in a concerns about the science, speaking bird’s gizzard ballistics of non-toxic shot, Leading the way on lead with and listening to the and the circulation of myths To tackle this insidious and lethal problem, shooting community. This and fake news around the whole WWT – along with other conservation and built engagement with the people involved, contentious issue. Importantly, a largely environmental bodies – has for many years opening up the discussion to hear their unseen big business lobby operates behind encouraged shooters to use non-toxic views, and this honest dialogue has been the scenes – not just the game industry alternatives to lead pellets. We have been reflected in the shooting media. but also gun, ammunition and associated a driving force in securing international Also contributing to the shift among industries in Europe and the US, with resolutions on the use of lead ammunition, hunters is a decision by Waitrose to stock great financial and political power. and in supporting recent crucial EU only lead-free game meat; other outlets are So our work evolved, not just by restriction processes. following suit. The need to safeguard the communicating science and political Though piecemeal regulations to ban growing market for healthy game meat was advocacy, but also by developing lead for shooting wildfowl in wetlands cited in the recent announcement as a key partnerships and through dialogue with were introduced in the UK in the 1990s and reason for the voluntary ban, along with the shooting community. We helped create 2000s (see timeline below), the problems benefits to wildlife and the environment. have continued. These will only be addressed and support ‘change coalitions’ – bodies WWT has helped make sure the writing of experts, in the UK and internationally, by banning lead ammunition completely. is on the wall for lead, and has encouraged pushing for the much-needed shift to Our campaigns are backed by solid the shooting community to demonstrate non-toxic ammunition and bringing the science. As long ago as 1983, the Royal that it wants to be on the right side of issue to the attention of wider audiences Commission on Environmental Pollution history. We believe a voluntary ban alone, and stakeholders, including the several recommended that the government should and over such a long timescale, is not million hunters across Europe. legislate the adoption of substitutes for lead enough – so we’ll continue our efforts to Indeed it is EU regulatory developments bring about a complete shift to non-toxic that are key to current progress. In the UK, gunshot much sooner. we’ve worked hard to communicate the Our long-term work on the science and message that this is not an antithe solution, with politicians and people hunting campaign – it is involved in shooting, has been critical in More than 6,000 tonnes of lead anti-poisoning, an effort this step towards consigning lead shot to ammunition – including billions of history. This announcement by the shooting tiny shot pellets – are discharged by guns in the UK every year in areas community shows the tide is turning – where birds such as swans feed. Left and a bright future for a UK without toxic strewn on the ground, they are often lead could be ours, but we must make it so… mistaken for grit or seeds and ingested

2010 The Lead Ammunition Group is established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency in response to WWT research showing that regulations are being ignored and growing concern for human health.

2014 WWT makes a major contribution to the adoption of the UN Convention

the EU. WWT supports this, and plays a vital role in the adoption of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s resolution on lead poisoning. on Migratory Species resolution on lead poisoning, bringing the issue to global attention.

2016 The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) starts work on regulation of lead shot in wetlands across

2019 Supermarkets including Waitrose announce plans to stock only lead-free game meat. WWT supports ECHA’s new work on a wider restriction for all lead ammunition.

2017 WWT ensures that the UN Convention on Migratory Species establishes a Lead Task Group and the UN Environment Assembly considers the impact of lead ammunition.

2020 WWT supports the UN Convention on Migratory Species Task Force on Lead Ammunition. A coalition of UK shooting and rural organisations announces a voluntary ban on lead shot.

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In Europe, it claims the lives of one million waterbirds each year. In addition, birds wounded during a shoot are eaten by predators and scavengers, including some of our rare birds of prey, which are in turn poisoned. And, of course, humans also consume game meat shot with lead, thus absorbing the toxin.

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People have flocked to the River Lea seeking comfort and leisure during the crisis

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By Tom Fewins, Head of Policy & Advocacy

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Recently, on a hot, sunny weekend, I took a ride along London’s Lea Valley. I’d never seen so many people converging on the river channels, marshes and reservoirs that line it, unshackled from busy, distracted lives and adjusting to a new and unsettling reality. It felt as if we were all drawing upon a deep and dormant instinct to seek safety and assurance in the natural world around us.

Many of us have sought solace in wildlife, which is enjoying a temporary reprieve from the pressures we impose upon it. However, while footage of goats, whales and flamingos returning to urban areas has lifted spirits, the crises the world was facing before the pandemic have not gone away.

Climate change, ecological destruction and our deteriorating wellbeing continue to unfold, and as we seek to rebuild our economy we cannot return to ‘business as normal’, depleting rather than recharging our natural capital – the stocks of natural resources that wetlands and other habitats provide and on which we depend. The clamour for a green recovery is growing and, with public finances deep in the red, we need to invest wisely for the long term, protecting public health, building a resilient economy and repairing our environment so that everyone can enjoy a better quality of life.

The government already has a long-term plan for the environment, launched at London Wetland Centre two years ago, but many of its key components remain on the 8

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drawing board. These include a Nature Recovery Network and better use of ‘nature-based solutions’ to address broader societal challenges, including greater public enjoyment, carbon capture and flood management.

Helpfully, the government’s independent adviser, the Natural Capital Committee, recommends creating 100,000 hectares of wetland, noting that this can generate returns of up to nine times the costs.

WWT is seeking to make this a reality – a strategic network of wetlands we want to create at scale, which provide essential services across the UK. We want to create wetlands that store carbon more efficiently than any other natural ecosystem, install

woody dams and reconnect flood plains to ‘slow the flow’ of water and protect properties, and construct urban rain gardens to support wellbeing. The co-benefits of such projects are numerous, be it supporting food production, improving water quality or bringing communities together – allowing them to pay for themselves several times over.

While 100,000 hectares is an ambitious figure, by working with government, businesses and wider civil society it is achievable. To do this we need to secure recognition for wetlands as critical blue infrastructure, providing space for wildlife and vital services to people. This recovery must be not only green, but also blue.

HONOURING A WETLAND HERO We’re sad to report the loss of a great champion of wetland conservation: Mr Eskandar Firouz, who was so pivotal in the international adoption of the Ramsar Convention, died in March.

Born in Shiraz in 1926, Mr Firouz drove the formation of Iran’s Department of Environment in the 1960s. Following

a visit to what’s now WWT Slimbridge later that decade, he arranged for the Iranian city of Ramsar to host a meeting to agree the text of a global Convention on Wetlands of International Importance on 2 February 1971 – a date now recognised as World Wetlands Day.

His environmental efforts continued with the creation of parks and reserves in Iran, with the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972 and as a member of the presiding board of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Mr Firouz died in Maryland, USA on 4 March, aged 93.

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DEFENDING GODWITS IN LISBON

The proposed new airport will be located on the bank of Lisbon’s Tagus Estuary, a nature reserve where black-tailed godwits, a threatened species, stop off on their way from Africa to the UK

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We support opposition to the proposed development of a new airport in Portugal that may threaten an important population of blacktailed godwits.

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In November 2019, the Portuguese government approved the development of an airport in the Tagus Estuary. This is one of the most important wintering and staging sites for black-tailed godwits that breed in the UK, Iceland and western Europe, with an estimated 49,000 individuals present in midwinter.

BirdLife International reports that the environmental impact assessment for the development – which abuts an Important Bird Area – did not take into account

the efforts of the Portuguese BirdLife partner SPEA (the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds) in investigating and objecting to the development.

wintering birds, and that proposed mitigation measures may not benefit godwits, which are unlikely to quickly move to sites elsewhere.

As a partner in Project Godwit, a major conservation project working to save the UK’s breeding godwits, WWT is backing

Project Godwit is an EU LIFE Nature project and a partnership between WWT and the RSPB.

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CHANGING TIMES FOR WATERLIFE We love sharing news and stories about our work and reserves – and the way we bring you these updates is evolving.

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usual. The next two will arrive in late October and the end of March.

We will be introducing a fresh, new look to the magazine over the next few issues. We are also no longer taking advertising from companies that promote air travel.

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From 2021 we will produce the print edition of Waterlife three times a year rather than four, in response to a growing appetite for more sustainable communications.

As a result, we’re enhancing our digital experience with a raft of multimedia materials showcasing wonderful wetlands, species and conservation projects. On our website you’ll find a new Discover Wetlands area, plus Waterlife blogs featuring a diverse range of personal stories and project news,

complementing our regular email newsletters and Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram feeds bringing you updates and inspiring images.

Due to the impact of Covid-19, you may also have noticed that this issue has arrived a little later than

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Due to the government’s guidelines to deal with coronavirus, we had to close our wetland centres.

Even though we’re working to get them all open as Waterlife goes to print, it will be with restrictions.

We won’t be running events for some time.

Please check our website for the latest information.

We’re constantly reviewing how we communicate with members, and hope you continue to enjoy Waterlife.

Thank you for your feedback and continued support – we could not continue to protect and restore the world’s precious wetlands without you.

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FOCUS ON... SUSTAINABILITY

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BETTER BUILDINGS

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Last year, WWT cut carbon emissions once again – and we’re always looking for ways to go ‘greener’ still. Our carbon footprint shrank significantly in 2019, thanks to ongoing investment in renewable and low-carbon infrastructure, improved energy efficiency and other efforts to ‘green’ our buildings.

We’re committed to improving our sustainability, and are working hard to minimise our impact on the environment, including making improvements to our buildings to make them more energy-efficient.

The result: the carbon footprint of our buildings was 48% lower in 2019 than in 2014.

Reducing use of electricity, gas and oil at our sites cuts our climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions as well as keeping down costs, leaving more money to fund our wetland conservation work.

We achieved this through installing renewable and low-carbon infrastructure across our sites, including biomass boilers that burn wood pellets made from waste sawdust, air- and ground-source heat pumps, solar (photovoltaic) panels, solar hot-water heating and even a small wind

’s WWT Washington m eco-friendly sedu l roof is a beautifu ts habitat for insec

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Many of our hides and some centres, as here at WWT Washington, boast green roofs, providing super levels of insulation and habitat for wildlife

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Wetlands store turbine. The added 146 solar panels twice as much carbon as introduction of at London Wetland the world’s forests but are biomass boilers Centre, and installed being lost at three times th has seen our use energy-efficient e rate of deforestation of heating oil fall by boilers and topped (see page 40).

87% over six years. up insulation at Of course, increasing WWT Llanelli. energy efficiency also plays Thanks to such measures – a big part. As at home, that along with the gradual increase means turning appliances and heating off in renewable options (we only buy 100% or down, installing better controls and renewable electricity and frack-free gas) low-energy LED lighting, and replacing – our 2019 carbon footprint was 754 older appliances such as fridges with tonnes lower than in 2013. energy-efficient ones when appropriate.

As well as the environmental and Insulation can be green in itself: we financial benefits, these measures love living roofs, covered with plants, continue to improve the environment which you’ll see on many of our hides for our visitors, staff and volunteers. and some of our centres. These provide Win-win! heat regulation, noise insulation and habitat for wildlife.

To find out more about our We are continually improving and efforts to go green, please visit investing: for example, in 2019 we wwt.org.uk/sustainability

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By Lucy Smith, Head of Sustainability

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Handmade bags woven from grass and invasive water hyacinth at Anlung Pring will soon be available to buy in our shops

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Now we’ve launched WWT as an official presence in Cambodia – the first time we’ve established a legal entity outside the UK – to enable us to identify and work in vitally important wetlands where no conservation organisations are currently operating.

The initial focus of our five local staff is an assessment of the conservation status of WWT’s priority landscape in

Cambodia, the Lower Mekong Delta. Here, without rapid intervention, the few remaining pockets of healthy wetland may be gone within five years – places that provide a home for beautiful and at-risk species such as painted stork, oriental darter and stately sarus crane.

By replicating successes such as the community-based project at Anlung Pring in far southern Cambodia, we

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Our efforts to conserve South East Asia’s wetlands – along with protecting the wildlife and people that live in and around them – took a giant step forward in June with the establishment of a WWT office in Cambodia.

With so much of its population reliant on the vast wetland of the Lower Mekong Delta for food and other resources, Cambodia is one of the countries most dependent on nature for the livelihood of its people. Over the past 10 years, we’ve worked with local partners to develop projects through which communities can transition to more sustainable livelihoods – in agriculture, ecotourism, fisheries and more.

And we’ve backed the government to encourage the sustainable use of wetland resources, to ensure that they remain healthy in the future, for people and for biodiversity.

aim to enable local people to benefit from the conservation of wetlands through livelihood support, like the employment and infrastructure improvements paid for by profits from ecotourism. Thanks to your support, we’ll enable more communities to secure a brighter future for themselves, their local environment and its precious biodiversity.

Boosting biodiversity at Steart Vital habitat improvement work at WWT Steart Marshes will be completed this autumn thanks to a welcome boost of £74,400 funding through Biffa Award. This is great news for waterbirds including avocets, lapwings, curlews and shelducks.

The new project at this landmark Somerset reserve will enhance saline lagoons within the intertidal areas, creating improved habitat for breeding and feeding

waterbirds. In addition, work on the existing islands and scrapes will provide safe refuges for waders, while a new tilting weir will upgrade

our ability to control water levels and ensure the wetland habitat flourishes.

‘It’s important Biffa Award continues to support

WWT Steart Marshes is of enormous value to breeding waders

projects like this, which enhance habitats for a wide range of species,’ said Rachel Maidment, Biffa Award Grants Manager. ‘We can’t wait to see even more birds visiting Steart when the work is completed.’

Biffa Award is a multimillion-pound fund – an element of the Landfill Communities Fund – that allocates grants to community and environmental projects across the UK.

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Chrysomela saliceti is a rare beetle we found on purple willow

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Cryptocephalus rufipes is new to the UK

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o better understand our sites and the wildlife they support, WWT carries out a wide range of monitoring. Recently, an aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate survey took place at London Wetland Centre.

Our goal was to improve and update our knowledge of the site’s invertebrates in a systematic and repeatable way, so we can monitor change in the future. Though we have detailed records of the moths, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies present, this was the first time that several other invertebrate groups had been thoroughly surveyed.

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We concentrated on ants, bees and wasps, grasshoppers and crickets, larger flies, craneflies and hoverflies, beetles, bugs, slugs and snails and a range of smaller groups.

As a result, a magnificent 530 new species were added to 124 species from historic records.

Our highlights included the short-winged conehead – a type of bush cricket found in areas of reedbed and wet grassland. As its name suggests, it has short, stunted wings and is flightless. However, high population densities trigger the development of a flying form, which enables it to disperse and colonise new wetland areas.

Another delight associated with emergent vegetation

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NEW DISCOVERIES The most startling discovery was first the larvae, then the adults of a leaf beetle that turned out to be Chrysomela saliceti, a relatively new colonist from mainland Europe. This was followed by a pot beetle that was quickly recognised as Cryptocephalus rufipes, a species only recorded for the first time in the UK earlier that week. We were thrilled to find that there were many individuals of both species present.

A medium-sized potter wasp flying around searching the leaves of the willow trees proved to be Symmorphus crassicornis, a specialist predator of poplar beetles.

On-site, it was found to be

preying on the newly arrived beetle Chrysomela saliceti.

The wasp was a frequent find, suggesting that its intricate web of existence has been established for several years.

We were intrigued about whether the small parasitoid wasp Chrysis fulgida was also on-site. This bright, metallic cuckoo wasp lays its eggs in the nests of one other species of wasp and a species of bee, and is endangered.

To see if the species is present, we have installed artificial nest chambers. Next spring we’ll open the nests to see what hatched out.

The conservation of invertebrates can be improved or compromised by even the most subtle changes, and this can be overlooked when managing for more visible species or habitat. These detailed surveys help us appreciate how important WWT sites are for these unseen species, and identify improvements that will support our hard-working minibeasts.

Sam Stafford/WWT, Francis C Franklin

PRODUCTION

MONITORING MINIBEASTS

is the mining bee Macropis europaea, sometimes called the yellow loosestrife bee. This clever solitary bee digs burrows in winter-flooded mud in which to lay its eggs. It then makes a waterproof lining using oils it collects from the flowers of yellow loosestrife.

Mike Edwards, Graeme Lyons

A female mining bee collects pollen from yellow loosestrife flowers

Reserves, 1

In the UK, we manage over 3,000 hectares of important wetland habitat on our reserves. Thanks to your support and sensitive management by our staff, our sites teem with amazing wildlife. Here are just some of the ways our reserve teams are nurturing these special places for you to enjoy WWT Washington is managed to support breeding willow tits

Willow tit: dead-wood denizen

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Sam Stafford/WWT, Francis C Franklin

Mike Edwards, Graeme Lyons

isitors to WWT Washington’s Hawthorn Hide may be lucky enough to spot the enchanting willow tit, a ‘tick’ that will be the envy of birders further south. Sadly, this is among the fastest-declining resident species in the UK, with populations falling by about 93% in the past 50 years.

Lost from much of Britain due to the loss, deterioration and fragmentation of its damp woodland and scrub habitat, the willow tit is now on the UK Red List.

Being a sedentary species that doesn’t move far over open ground, the willow tit struggles to expand its breeding populations once corridors between woodlands are lost.

It is quite specific in its habitat needs too, preferring dense, young woods with a low canopy, damp soil, tall ground cover and ample dead wood in which it can excavate its nest.

HOLE FOR A FAMILY Much like a woodpecker, the willow tit nests in cavities it creates itself. However, it lacks the power to excavate a hole in a live tree, so it needs soft, rotting, dead wood to dig out a nesting chamber.

Washington is proud to be a stronghold for willow tits, so we work hard to provide the optimum habitat in which they can thrive. We create pockets of scrub and bramble to protect and hide their nest holes, as well

The willow tit – a little brown bird with a black cap – is a rarity and top spot at Washington

as maintaining a younger, denser structure to the woodland so these small birds can dart through safely.

Coppicing and pollarding trees helps promote fresh young growth, allowing the tits’ invertebrate prey to flourish and providing cover for nests.

We also plant tree species that have softer wood, such as birch, willow, alder and elder, to make it easier for the birds to excavate their nests.

We manage our hedges using techniques such as hedge-laying to form dense areas of cover for foraging. Keeping hedges short also deters nest predators such as grey squirrels and woodpeckers, which prefer

to search for food in areas where there are trees.

FUSSY NESTERS Willow tits are unlikely to use traditional nest boxes, as excavating their own nests appears to be what stimulates them to breed. So we’ve been trialling other ways to create nesting opportunities for them.

These include felling trees about a metre above ground level so the tall stump eventually provides standing dead wood. We also score the bark of selected trees to encourage natural decay.

We’ve been testing specially designed birdboxes – filling a pallet-wood box with soft,

dry, dead wood that can be hollowed out by nesting birds.

We hope these efforts will give our willow tits the best chance to breed successfully.

From March, we survey numbers by playing a recording of a willow tit’s call and listening for a response. This helps us build a picture of potential and established territories, which we can monitor over the breeding season. Cameras film our nest boxes and traditional nest sites.

Our hard work is already paying off. An increase in breeding pairs has been recorded locally, and we hope our efforts will help secure the future of this rare species in the north-east.

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Grazing cows create a diverse habitat and encourage insect life, which is good for young birds like this yellow wagtail

Grazing for wildlife

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ne of the main ways we manage WWT reserves sensitively for wildlife is called ‘conservation grazing’.

We maintain our wildlife habitats using hardy traditional breeds, which cope well with being outdoors in all weathers and thrive on a more varied and less refined diet.

We need animals that will eat the tougher grasses, sedges and rushes that can dominate our wetland habitats, so that delicate herbs and flowers have the chance to flourish.

We’re also careful about feeding our livestock, as any hay, silage or other food adds nutrients to the fields. These favour a small number of quickgrowing grasses over a more varied, flower-rich grassland. So we keep numbers of livestock at levels that do not require additional feed during summer.

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It’s not just the physical In winter, any animals staying action of grazing that helps, but on the reserve are fed only also the livestock’s behaviour. when necessary, and then only Animals pushing through or hay or silage we’ve made on-site. rubbing against vegetation has Wherever possible, our an impact, and horned cattle animals graze over extensive in particular create excellent areas. This ensures that, while niches for wildlife by some patches are grazed twisting and snapping short, others remain trees and branches. tussocky. This is The poaching known as – pockets caused structural by their hooves diversity and Livestock dung of ds re nd – also creates it helps to hu ts or supp , which in puddles and support a invertebrates feast turn provide a s spaces for new greater range of al for other anim plants to establish. species. Because Most of WWT’s grazing animals grazing is carried out naturally move slowly by cattle, but we also use horses across the landscape, wildlife and sheep as each delivers can cope with the cropping. different effects and benefits.

Unlike with a tractor and Cattle are not very selective, mower, animals have the chance wrapping their long tongues to move away to undisturbed around a large mouthful of areas, and invertebrates such as vegetation and pulling it up. bees have access to a succession They will often eat the fibrous of wildflowers.

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species that are less palatable to other grazers. They’re keen on common reeds and will graze along the edges of waterbodies, opening up the habitat for the benefit of other species.

Horses are more selective grazers, but hardy native breeds will nibble coarser grasses and less palatable species. In contrast to cows, horses aim to eat quantity quickly and – as with all grazers – when managed correctly to prevent under or overgrazing, they can produce diverse swards.

Sheep are even more selective. Because they nibble the grass with their front teeth close to the ground, they create a very short turf. Though this close-cropped grass can be beneficial, for example in helping to create grazing lawns for wintering wildfowl, grazing with sheep does need to be managed carefully.

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Cattle egrets can be seen at any time of year, though birds congregate in flocks during the winter

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ELEGANT EGRETS Egrets are changing from rarities to regulars on our wetlands. Dominic Couzens reveals why you’re now more likely to spot these birds

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ome of the UK’s most graceful birds are returning to our wetlands across Britain. Previously driven to extinction in the UK, these exotic egrets are very welcome – unless you’re a fish or an invertebrate, that is!

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significance. Now the little egret is commonplace, and the signs are that the still-rare cattle egret and great white egret will follow in the steps of its peculiar yellow feet.

‘Back in the 1970s and 1980s, egrets would occasionally appear in late summer,’ explains Dave Paynter, Reserve Manager at Slimbridge. ‘That’s what a lot of heron-like birds do. After breeding, the young tend to wander in all directions, sometimes

The little egret is most common in the south and east, but increasing its range north

LITTLE BITTERN

GREY HERON

A rare and extremely elusive heron, very much smaller than the rest – a mini-heron. Usually stays hidden in reedbeds and is only seen flying from one stand to another. You’ll be lucky to see this one.

The most familiar heron all round the country. Very large, with mainly grey and white plumage. Flies with deep wingbeats on huge, broad wings. Often stands motionless in fields, apparently doing nothing.

NIGHT-HERON

Already breeding in the UK in tiny numbers. Secretive and mainly nocturnal. About little egret-sized, with smart black, white and grey colouration, although juveniles are spotted.

PURPLE HERON

Similar to grey heron but much, much rarer, usually seen in late summer, the wandering juveniles being browner. Has a thinner bill that sinks into head, and more stripes on neck; adult looks darker at distance. Usually seen around large wetlands.

Steve Garvie, Ian Kirk, WWT/James Lees, Debbie Pain, Malcolm Marner

GLOSSY IBIS

SPOONBILL

Looks like an egret but only distantly related. The flat, round bill is swished from side to side in shallow water to detect food such as shrimps and fish by touch.

Often asleep during the day. Has bred in Britain in recent years.

Distantly related to herons, but often feeds with them in shallow water, using its down-curved bill for probing in the water. Unlike herons, egrets and bitterns, which retract their necks when flying, glossy ibis and spoonbill fly with their necks extended.

In the UK, the first little egrets bred in 1996, the first cattle egrets in 2007 and the first great egrets in 2012. Their future is bright Of course, all of our reserves, being wetlands, are good places for egret watching. So, what do you look for to identify one? ‘The great white egret lives up to its name,’ explains Dave. ‘It is as big as a heron and flies with very slow wingbeats.

It doesn’t have obvious yellow feet, but usually feeds in the same places as little egrets. It dwarfs them if they are close by.’

Cattle egrets, meanwhile, are similar in size to little egrets but chunkier, with a thicker neck and a short, yellow bill, not a long, dark one. And, helpfully, there is a bit of a giveaway: ‘Cattle egrets really do typically feed next to livestock, eating insects disturbed by the grazing animals’ hooves. Any white egret next to a cow is likely to be the scarcer bird.’

Your best chances of seeing them are where they feed. Little and great egrets prey mainly on fish, with some frogs, crustaceans and so on. Little egrets often run after tiddlers, while great egrets are typically more deliberate and patient.

Both are successful and efficient.

We can help It can be hard to distinguish the newcomers from the more everyday egrets, so next time you’re at your local wetland centre just ask a volunteer to help.

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Six other long-legged wading birds

travelling a very long way. Egrets from Europe or Africa have been seen flying over the mid-Atlantic.

‘At first the little egrets would stay here only a short time. Then more and more individuals started remaining here over the winter, especially as the seasons became milder. Not surprisingly, when enough birds stayed put, it was inevitable they would start breeding here.’

In the UK, the first little egrets bred in 1996, the first cattle egrets in 2007 and the first great egrets in 2012. The populations of the latter two are very small for now, but their future is bright. ‘These days,’ says Dave, ‘you have to double-check your egret ID, in case it’s actually one of the rarer ones.’

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Wherever there’s clean, fresh water, there’ll almost certainly be dragonflies and damselflies. Our reserves are managed to support these astonishing insects – and summer is a great time to admire them in all their glory WORDS: AMY-JANE BEER

A southern hawker waits and watches for insect prey. Of the 42 species of dragonfly and damselfly that regularly breed in the UK, most of the 17 damselflies and some of the 25 larger dragonflies are on the wing by mid-June

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miraculous precision with which the wings operate. Dragonfly flight is unlike that of any other organism – or indeed any man-made contraption. It can be fast or slow; forwards, backwards, sideways or vertically up or down, and includes fixed-wing glides and hovering. The two pairs of wings can beat in sync or out of phase with each other in order to generate different amounts of lift and thrust. The angles, flexibility and cross-sectional curvature of the wings can be altered mid-flight, allowing abrupt changes in speed, direction and upward movement.

It’s enough to make an aeronautical engineer weep.

Dragonflies, or insects very like them, have been performing these feats for over 300 million years of the Earth’s history, but today they are struggling due to a range of

‘They’re brilliant indicators of wetland health and we’re proud that every single WWT reserve is delivering’

threats to their habitats. All species have aquatic larvae, known as nymphs, so they are highly vulnerable to wetland losses.

Almost any kind of fresh water can attract dragonflies or damselflies, from lakes and reservoirs, rivers and streams to bogs, ditches and springs. The nymphs hatch from eggs laid in water, and spend up to five years crawling around on the bottom, feeding voraciously on other aquatic insects, worms and even small fish. Rather than passing through a single transformation like that of a caterpillar to butterfly, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs metamorphose indirectly, through a series of five to 14 moults, only the last of which reveals the winged adult.

WETLAND BAROMETERS

Water quality is paramount for the nymphs. ‘They’re brilliant indicators of wetland health,’ explains Martin. ‘They tell you if you’re doing things right and by that token, every single WWT reserve is delivering. In the past 20 years, our focus has broadened from birds to wetlands generally, and newer reserves such as London Wetland Centre and Steart

Marina Jacob, Rison Thumboor

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he best way to see dragonflies up close is to let them come to you. Rather than pursuing an individual as it hovers, alights and takes off again, watch from a distance and notice places where the insects perch regularly to bask – a behaviour important in regulating their body temperature. Settle yourself two or three metres away, and wait.

A pair of binoculars will help you observe their jewel-and-enamel colours, their two pairs of leaded-light wings, and the grappling-hook legs and powerful jaws that make them such ferocious predators of smaller insects.

‘Seeing them up close makes me glad we no longer have species with bodies the size of a rounders bat,’ says Martin McGill, Senior Reserve Warden at WWT Slimbridge. He’s referring to the ancestors of today’s dragonflies and damselflies – which fossils show were among the largest insects that ever lived, with a wingspan similar to that of a kestrel.

If you’re able to get close enough to shoot a video on your phone, use the slow-motion setting for an inkling of the

NPL/Robert Thompson, Kim Taylor (this image is a digital composite)

PRODUCTION

A four-spotted chaser rests on the feathery, white flowers of bogbean, a plant of ponds, fens, bogs and marshes

VAGRANT EMPEROR Anax ephippiger

Dragonfly flight is unlike that of any other organism. Their wings operate with miraculous precision Marshes were planned with invertebrates in mind from the start. London in particular was a blank canvas in which we were able to create a mosaic of habitats to cater for a wide variety of species.’

Of around 57 species of dragonfly and damselfly in the UK, Steart Marshes has already recorded 21 species since the freshwater wetland was created in 2011.

Somerset is an important county for dragonflies, and with the watery landscape of the Levels close by, it’s not surprising the site has been colonised rapidly. The powerful flight of adult dragonflies means they are highly mobile. Even so, the speed of their arrival has delighted observers.

The mobility of dragonflies may be an advantage in our warming future, allowing species to shift to higher latitude or altitudes as climate changes. Some species

Dragonflies, 2

FOUR MIGRANTS TO SPOT As well as familiar resident species, the British Isles are welcoming more migrant dragonflies with each passing summer. Some are expanding their ranges as our climate warms, others migrate here from southern and Eastern Europe, and a few are vagrants blown far beyond their usual distribution. Migrants and vagrants are most likely to be recorded in the south, but northern records are arguably more exciting!

Marina Jacob, Rison Thumboor

NPL/Robert Thompson, Kim Taylor (this image is a digital composite)

Dragonflies like this southern hawker are acrobats of the sky. They can fly upside down, turn 360° and travel at more than 55kmph. They can even fly backwards with as much skill as they fly forwards

ID Brown eyes, yellow leading edges to forewings; body mostly brown with blue patch near front of abdomen Adult season Could be seen in any month Status Rare migrant/ vagrant from Africa and Middle East that could appear almost anywhere in the UK LESSER EMPEROR Anax parthenope

ID Smaller than common emperor, green eyes;

male has brown abdomen and bright blue saddle, female has bluish abdomen with broad black longitudinal stripe Adult season May to September Status Rare but increasing annual migrant recorded across England and southern Scotland; has bred in Cornwall SOUTHERN MIGRANT HAWKER Aeshna affinis

ID A small hawker. Male blue eyes, dark abdomen

with blue markings.

Female brown eyes, brown abdomen and yellow markings Adult season June to September Status This rare migrant appears to be becoming more frequent along reedy ditches in the UK, and is a potential colonist RED-VEINED DARTER Sympetrum fonscolombii

ID A small darter, male deep red, female ochre-yellow; eyes red-brown above and blue below; wing bases yellow; wing veins red in male, yellow in female Adult season May to November Status Increasingly common migrant as far north as Aberdeen; now breeds most years in south-western England

Dragonfly migration is still little understood, but some European projects are attempting to track movements by marking individuals with spots of paint on the wings. If you see a dragonfly marked like this anywhere, not just on WWT reserves, please contact the British Dragonfly Society (british-dragonflies.org.uk), which may be able to identify the project.

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Dragonflies like this black-tailed skimmer are most active when it’s warm and sunny. To observe them closely, avoid the hottest part of the day. Search very early in the morning to find them less active and covered in dew

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previously considered Mediterranean in distribution are becoming increasingly common here (see box, page 25). There’s a natural waning of dragonfly diversity in higher latitudes, but we’re seeing a northward spread of former rarities.

Our northern centres at Caerlaverock and Washington are regionally important hotspots of local abundance.

Meanwhile the endangered white-faced darter, a species closely associated with the acidic condition of lowland peat bogs, is declining and retracting its southern range at a worrying speed. It has already disappeared from the otherwise ideal habitat of the Surrey Heaths and parts of the Midlands.

Damselflies are the smaller, more delicate cousins of dragonflies. While some species can be very common in

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DRAGONS VERSUS DAMSELFLIES Though broadly similar, it’s relatively easy to tell dragonflies (Anisoptera) from their damselfly cousins (Zygoptera) DAMSELFLIES • Slim body and daintier form • Flight relatively weak and fluttering • Eyes don’t meet at top of head • Wings fold back in line with the body when perched • Wings evenly sized DRAGONFLIES • Large and robust body • Flight fast and powerful • Huge eyes meet at top of head • Wings usually held horizontally to sides when perching • Front wings noticeably longer and narrower than hindwings

NPL/Adrian Davies, Guy Edwardes, Robert Thompson

PRODUCTION

After laboriously emerging from its larval exoskeleton, a hawker dragonfly rests, pumping hemolymph – a fluid equivalent to blood in most invertebrates – into its wings to extend them fully

Dragonflies, 3

Garden dragons

Dragonflies spend most of their lives in their larval stage.

Unlike damselfly nymphs, whose external gills look like three ‘tails’, the gills of dragonfly nymphs are within the abdomen

NPL/Adrian Davies, Guy Edwardes, Robert Thompson

Perching spots are important for resting and basking in the sun, especially first thing in the morning areas of good habitat, their weaker, more fluttering flight means they can be harder to attract to a new place. ‘I’d love to find a white-legged damselfly here at Slimbridge,’ says Martin wistfully. ‘The species is normally a moving-water specialist, but it’s been recorded several times on the canal nearby, though not on the reserve itself – at least not yet.’

So how do you go about creating and maintaining good dragon habitat? The first requirement is water, and water quality is paramount. Pesticides can build up over time and be damaging to aquatic life, which needs addressing globally. We maintain optimum water quality through the use of constructed reedbed filtration systems, which in turn provides great habitat for wetland life.

The water should have both floating and emergent vegetation, and the surrounding area needs to support plenty of insect prey for the adults. Perching spots are important for resting and basking in the sun, especially first thing in the morning, when dragonflies need to warm their wing muscles ready for flight. Tall marsh plants such as reed mace or flag iris are often used, but slim stakes serve just as well and can be located strategically to make these basking beauties easier to watch.

MANAGING HABITAT

In terms of species diversity, the best sites will have zones of standing and running water of different depth and area. Hawkers, skimmers and darters generally prefer standing water such as lakes and ponds, while the large red damselfly likes bogs and ditches. The banded and beautiful demoiselle damsels and the rare goldenringed dragonfly are more associated with rivers and streams.

Water is essential to the dragonfly life cycle, so a pond is by far the best way to attract them to your patch. An old sink or trough sunk in the ground will do for starters.

For the more ambitious, a larger pond with both floating and emergent vegetation will provide places for eggs to be laid, nymphs to develop and stems for them to crawl out on when they are ready to make the final transformation into winged adults.

If you can’t manage a water feature of your own, you can still attract adults – even to a balcony. Plant nectaring flowers and herbs to keep the area gently buzzing with potential prey, and knock in a few canes or stakes among them to provide perching opportunities and give yourself a better chance to admire these magnificent creatures up close.

Carnivorous fish are major predators of nymphs, though those of larger dragonflies are able to turn the tables and themselves target small fish, such as minnows, as prey.

We’re creating ponds from which we can exclude fish. In nature, ephemeral ponds are those that occasionally dry up in very hot summers, and so they tend to stay fish-free. But dragonflies find them quickly. We can mimic this situation on reserves by creating scrapes that dry out from time to time, or by netting pools connected to watercourses to keep fish out.

Which WWT reserve holds the record, I wonder? Martin smiles. ‘That would have to be London with 27 species! It has the advantage of being in the south-east, which is favourable both in terms of climate and proximity to the continent.

Even so that’s a stunning total for a city location, and really justifies all our efforts to create the site. Maybe I just need to spend a few more lunch breaks searching Slimbridge for that elusive white-legged damsel!’ Q JULY/OCTOBER 2020

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Hello there!

If you’re like me, you’ll have spent loads of time stuck at home this year, wishing you could be going out to see wildlife elsewhere. Hasn’t it been tough not being able to explore and see new things?

It’s been hard for everyone at WWT too – not being able to welcome visitors like you to enjoy their fantastic wetlands, which are teeming with dragonflies, bumblebees and birds of prey. Not to mention kingfishers. The centres may have been closed, but nature’s still open.

So this issue, we’re going crazy for wetlands and making up for some of what we’ve missed. Wetlands here in the UK and all over the world are where some of the coolest, most amazing wild creatures live. So come and discover them with me in this summer special.

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Our adventure starts with this sundew growing on a boggy mountain moor. It’s not just any plant – it’s carnivorous and it has a clever way of catching its animal prey. The sundew is a deadly glue trap.

Insects land on the sweet-smelling sticky beads at the tip of those hair-like threads. And then they simply can’t escape. The end comes when the plant wraps the whole leaf around the stuck insect and dissolves it with acid juices into a nourishing liquid. Eeeeoooo!

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As the river gets closer to the sea, the land becomes flat. This is a floodplain. The edges of the river and nearby lakes and ponds are often swampy, filled with reeds. This is where one of the UK’s rarest and loudest birds lives...

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Lapwings raise their chicks in the wet meadows. They find plenty of worms and insect larvae to feed their families in the soft soil. In a few weeks’ time, many more lapwings will fly from colder countries of northern Europe to join them. Big flocks of them will spend the winter together.

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You can hear a bittern from a mile away, but you hardly ever see one. In spring, the male makes an incredibly loud booming sound to attract females. It’s all gone quiet now though, and the birds are hiding in dense reedbeds where the reeds can be taller than the tallest grown-up. They’ll be busy spearing fish and frogs with those big bills.

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Rainwater seeps through the sundew’s moorland bog and runs into streams that feed a fast-flowing river

As the river leaves hilly country, the land becomes flatter. In some places, the river floods nearby fields after heavy rain. Damp grass fields next to the river are called wet grasslands

Kids' Zone - Go with the flow, 1

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2

We’ve just met a salmon swimming the other way.

It’s one of nature’s greatest travellers. It has swum thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean and now it’s battling against a strong current. But nothing will stop it returning to where it was born. It will even jump up waterfalls!

The fish are heading for a gravelly riverbed. The female lays thousands of eggs and buries them with more gravel. And there they’ll stay safe until they hatch in the spring.

The plant that began this adventure is a ROUND-LEAVED SUNDEW How many words can you make out of its name? You have 17 letters to play with.

A long time ago the river channel changed its course, leaving behind a long U-shaped lake in an old bend in the river – we call these ‘oxbow lakes’

3

An otter hunts in both the river and the lake. It has a huge territory and marks it with its poo (called a spraint). The otter spends much of its time swimming, staying low in the water with only its head and back visible. That sleek body, slender tail and webbed feet make it a fast and skilful swimmer. Otters need hiding places under tree roots or beneath boulders in which to build their holts. These are the bankside dens where otters sleep and raise their cubs.

6

Come the autumn, these great areas of mud and sand will be full of thousands of wading birds. Some arrive from inland. Birds like curlews bred on the moors where we started our journey. Others fly from other countries to feed-up on the estuary. This brightly coloured shelduck has been here all summer. Though they feed on small shellfish and water snails, shelducks spend more time out of the water than most ducks.

Now the river runs into the sea and we have reached the end of our journey. Hope you enjoyed it!

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With the biggest bite of any big cat, the jaguar’s jaws and teeth are so powerful they can bite through a crocodile’s hide or a turtle’s shell. Jaguars live near water and are such strong swimmers they can easily cross big rivers.

PRODUCTION

What did the beaver say when it couldn’t cross the river?

Dam it!

CLIENT

the Danube Delta – the second-largest river delta in Europe

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Delta in Botswana, Africa

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The third-largest land mammal after the elephant and white rhino weighs as much as two cars. Even so, a hippo is brilliantly adapted to living in water. Its webbed toes and powerful short legs make it a graceful swimmer.

Hippos leave the river at night to graze on grass.

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This huge rodent is an ace river engineer. It fells trees by gnawing the trunks with its strong teeth and builds dams out of branches. It eats up to 170 types of plant and uses its webbed back feet like paddles.

34

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The world’s biggest cat uses its stripes as camouflage to hide from its prey. In the mangrove swamps on the India-Bangladesh border, tigers hunt by night, silently stalking big animals such as buffalo and deer, until they can get close enough to pounce!

Kids' Zone - Wetlands, 1

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slow-moving mammals spend all their lives in water, where they’re propelled along by their strong tails.

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swans fly all the way from here to the Arctic for the summer to nest on boggy ground beside lakes and small pools. After a few weeks, the first snow ends the short northern summer. Then the birds fly huge journeys back to places such as our WWT reserves for the winter.

We’ve travelled around the world to seven of the most amazing wetlands to discover the coolest animals that live there...

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Crocodiles sit at the surface of the water until an animal comes close enough to grab in their huge jaws. They then drag their prey underwater to drown it. They are fast runners and excellent swimmers – salties can go far out to sea.

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Q F C A L V Q Q Y L W G C U H

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JULY/OCTOBER 2020

J W Y P Y E A P Y C O E I R S

T I G E R R B J A C M T T K O

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SWAN TIGER

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Lucky dip

On a wetland estuary, you might see thousands of wading birds feeding together on tiny animals living in the mud.

But how do they avoid fighting for food?

Well, they don’t all hunt in the same way and they don’t all eat the same things.

Let’s find out more...

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36

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Who eats who?

Can you make a mobile that shows who eats who in a wetland? Big creatures eat smaller ones, which eat smaller ones still. This is called a food chain. Our food chain has a grey heron at the top. It eats frogs and the frogs eat mosquitoes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; lots of them, because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re so small. When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made your mobile, why not hang it up in your room? Watch it move in the breeze when your window is open.

YOU WILL NEED: â&#x20AC;˘ white paper â&#x20AC;˘ colouring pencils â&#x20AC;˘ one short stick or rod â&#x20AC;˘ scissors â&#x20AC;˘ seven pieces of string of different lengths

WHAT TO DO Get your piece of paper and pencils ready. Using the pictures above to guide you, draw one grey heron, two frogs and four mosquitoes. The heron should be bigger than the frogs, and the frogs should be bigger than the mozzies.

Leave plenty of space on the paper around each animal.

Cut out each creature in a circle, leaving lots of room around it. Ask an adult if you need help. Poke a hole near the top of each disc using the end of the scissors.

Attach your first piece of string to the middle of the rod and thread the other end through the top of the heronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disc. Tie a knot.

Attach two longer pieces of string to the rod, either side of the heron. Thread the other ends through the tops of the frog discs. Tie a knot.

Attach the four longest pieces of string to the ends of the rod. Thread the other ends through the tops of the mosquito discs. Tie a knot.

Tie a piece of string to the rod to hang your food chain mobile up â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and enjoy!

1

2 3

4 5 6

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REPRO OP

All life needs water to survive, so we need to make sure there is enough clean water for everyone, especially in summer.

Here are seven ways you and your family can be water water savers savers

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Why not put a large bottle of water in the fridge so it is always super cool?

PRODUCTION

your parents NOT /HW \RXU ODZQ Ask TO WATER THE LAWN. JR EURZQ It may look brown and dead, but it will spring back to green as soon as it rains.

CLIENT

/HW \RXU SRQG OHYHOV GURS This may feel wrong, but the SEEDS of many PLANTS growing by your pond need water levels to fall so they are exposed to air and can GERMINATE.

If it takes time for the hot water to come through to your taps, collect the water until it runs hot and use it to water your flowers.

Ã&#x161;,I LWÃ&#x203A;V \HOORZ OHW LW PHOORZãÃ&#x203A; If you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t learned this rhyme, then nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the time. What this little rhyme means is that when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at home, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t flush the toilet if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just wee.

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of water to grow the oranges to fill just ONE GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE?

If you can drink mostly TAP WATER, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be doing the planet a favour.

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Save water, save wetlands

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Wetlands aren’t just places for us – and the wildlife we love – to enjoy. They’re also our greatest allies in the fight against climate change. Discover how healthy mangrove forests, peat bogs and coastal saltmarshes can act as vital carbon ‘sinks’ and help mitigate the effects of the climate crisis

BY PAUL BLOOMFIELD

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Blue Carbon, 1 Wild Wonders of Europe/López naturepl.com

F

or a glimpse of the future of wetland conservation, visit Steart Marshes in Somerset. In many ways, it also offers a snapshot of the past – and it’s an appropriately black-and-white picture.

Stroll to a hide overlooking one of the newly created lagoons this summer and you may be greeted by the rhythmic ‘thweep-thweep-thweep’ of an avocet, possibly with a quartet of fluffball-cute chicks in tow. Lost to the country in the mid-19th century, this much-loved wader is now breeding here once again.

A beneficiary of the UK’s most ambitious coastal realignment scheme, converting 480 hectares of intensively farmed arable fields into intertidal, brackish and freshwater marsh habitat, avocets arrived soon after the project’s completion in 2014. Four chicks hatched at Steart Marshes the following June – only the second brood in Somerset in 170 years – and this summer we have had some 40 pairs breed here.

Gaze across the same lagoon and you may spot another striking bird: a little egret, black bill and legs contrasting with snow-white plumage. Like the avocet, a

sighting of this elegant heron would have been unlikely here just a few years ago.

Its arrival may have been assisted not just by ecological restoration but by Europe’s climate warming, which allowed it to shift its range north (page 20).

WETLAND WINS

So one of Britain’s biggest new coastal wetlands hosts both a returning native and a recent immigrant. The flourishing marshes are also home to water voles, otters and roe deer, and the fry of economically valuable fish such as sea bass, plus nearly 30,000 wintering waterbirds of more than 50 species.

In fact, Steart represents a win-win-win scenario. Because as well as providing a vital home for wildlife, its huge swathe of rapidly maturing saltmarsh is part of a rejuvenated flood protection mechanism, absorbing the energy of the highest tides to avert the inundation of homes and fields. And we now know that conservation and restoration of such wetland habitats are powerful weapons in combating the causes and effects of climate change.

News stories about global warming are often accompanied by images of

The preservation of coastal wetlands like this saltmarsh in Andalusia’s Bahia de Cadiz Natural Park is critical to the fight against climate change. The glistening mud locks away carbon and teems with invisible life, attracting thousands of birds to feed here

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O Large numbers of seed-eating birds, such as skylarks, linnets and meadow pipits, feed across the marshes.

They, in turn, attract hunting merlin and short-eared owls.

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O Plants draw in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to build their leaves, stems and roots.

Lots of worms burrow through the ground – their waste enriches the soil in which the plants grow.

PRODUCTION Illustration: Stuart Jackson-Carter

CLIENT

O Saltmarsh plants release their seeds in late summer to ensure maximum distribution on high autumn tides. Teal and other ducks gorge themselves on the seeds.

O Beneath the surface, the saltmarsh teems with life. Mud snails, lugworms and ragworms attract feeding birds, such as redshank. In autumn, shelducks arrive to gorge on mud snails. The snails eat the algae from the mud’s surface and convert it into nutrients that feed plant growth.

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O With each tide, a layer of carbonrich sediment is washed in from elsewhere. Because saltmarsh soils are permanently damp and anaerobic, the buried carbon does not decompose and release CO2 – it remains locked away. Saltmarsh plants help the process by trapping the mobile sediments, and the carbon they have absorbed as they grow will be buried.

w

BLUE CARBON

Saltmarsh saviours

Saltmarshes and their diverse wildlife may change with the seasons, but beneath the surface, these coastal wetlands are always performing a vital role â&#x20AC;&#x201C; locking away carbon in their mud

SPRING

WINTER

AUTUMN SUMMER In summer, the saltmarsh is rich, green and full of life.

Sea lavender adds vibrant colour, while redshank probe the wet mud for worms and larvae, and build their nests in grass tussocks.

In autumn, higher tides inundate the saltmarsh, depositing greater quantities of fresh mud. Plants are starting to die off, and some are buried under the silt where the carbon they contain is trapped.

In winter, the saltmarsh can appear lifeless, as many plants have died off and been covered in silt, their carbon trapped in the soil. But the mudflats attract huge numbers of wading birds, which probe for small invertebrates in the mud and find safe roosting places on the saltmarsh.

In spring, the saltmarsh becomes green and vibrant once more. New plants start to grow from seeds carried in the sediment deposited by the autumn and winter tides.

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Blue Carbon, 2

l Male skylarks can be spotted rising almost vertically above the saltmarsh, hovering as they sing. They feed on seeds and insects and build nests under the cover of the saltmarsh vegetation.

BLUE CARBON

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deforestation and calls to protect and plant trees, which store carbon by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) – the ‘greenhouse gas’ that is a major contributing factor in anthropogenic climate change.

Yet global warming isn’t simply a ‘green’ issue, and this viewpoint ignores the role played by coastal and marine wetlands in storing so-called ‘blue’ carbon. ‘Put together, peatlands and coastal wetlands such as mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrass beds store more carbon than all of the world’s forests combined,’ notes Dr James Robinson, WWT Director of Conservation.

‘To put their contribution in perspective, wetlands occupy only 5-8% of the Earth’s total land surface, yet hold 35% of the estimated 1,500 billion tonnes of total organic carbon stored in our soils,’ adds Dr Julia Newth, our Ecosystem Health Manager.

Forests – indeed, all plants – sequester carbon: that is, they remove CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.

However, when trees die (or are cut down), Seagrass is vital to the health of our seas, and home to amazing wildlife like this long-snouted seahorse. It also captures carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests

Peat bogs, like this one in Estonia, hold the largest, long-term carbon store of any ecosystem. Undisturbed, they are critical for regulating the planet’s climate

much of that carbon or methane, another potent greenhouse gas, may be released back into the atmosphere when this organic matter decomposes. Healthy coastal and marine wetlands, though, not only absorb carbon at a rapid rate, they hold on to it in the form of living plants, dead vegetation and sediment deposits. This creates ‘sinks’ in which carbon is locked away for long periods, as shown by the illustration on the previous spread.

CARBON STORES

‘The numbers are mind-boggling,’ confirms Julia. ‘Saltmarshes, seagrasses and mangroves sequester carbon 35 to 57 times faster than tropical forests, while saltmarshes alone store millions of tonnes of carbon every year.’ Coastal wetlands do emit low levels of methane, but they emit less than other carbon-sequestering habitats.

Such habitats also help protect against the immediate and ongoing effects of climate change. ‘As extreme weather events such as storms, flooding, droughts and heat 44

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Alex Mustard; Sven Zacek; Mark Hamblin/naturepl.com; Christopher Jones/Alamy

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‘Together, peatlands and coastal wetlands store more carbon than all of the world’s forests combined’

Alex Mustard; Sven Zacek; Mark Hamblin/naturepl.com; Christopher Jones/Alamy

adding more carbon waves increase in to the sediment. frequency, coastal Sundews are common in nutrient-poor Other coastal habitats wetlands help buffer bogs and fens play similarly vital roles communities from storm in the fight against climate surges, reducing wave damage change. Seagrass, a flowering marine and floods, and stabilising shorelines, plant that grows in underwater meadows water supplies and local microclimates,’ around the UK, captures carbon up to says Julia.

35 times faster than tropical rainforests.

These benefits are already clear at Steart Globally, though it occupies only 0.2% of Marshes. Preliminary findings (yet to be the total seafloor, seagrass is estimated to published) from multi-year surveys by account for 10% of annual ocean carbon researchers at Manchester Metropolitan storage, partly because of the slow rate University found that the rate at which of decomposition. carbon is accumulated is very high. Since Elsewhere, mangrove forests – found 2014, the newly laid sediment comprised mostly in intertidal regions of the tropics about 4.5% organic carbon; before the and subtropics – are among the most marshes were restored, when the area was carbon-dense ecosystems, and also protect largely arable agricultural land, that figure coastal communities from the effects of was 1.5-3%. These initial measurements climate change. With high rates of plant don’t include ongoing plant colonisation

Healthy coastal wetlands not only absorb carbon at a rapid rate, they hold on to it, creating ‘sinks’ in which carbon is locked away for long periods

One of the UK’s biggest-ever coastal realignment schemes at Steart Marshes culminated in 2014 when the banks of the Parrett Estuary were breached to allow the sea to inundate the land. The project involved constructing nearly 5km of new flood banks, channels, scrapes and lagoons, creating an innovative flood-risk management system in which regenerating marshes absorb tidal energy.

Richard Foyle, who’s lived at neighbouring Stockland Bristol, for over 40 years, watched the site’s evolution. ‘During the great floods of 1981, when the sea broke through the defences, the land was underwater all the way to the South Brook [freshwater ditches],’ he recalls. ‘Most years, one road out of the village was inundated.

The project has remedied that.’

Richard also appreciates the newly flourishing wildlife. ‘There are more nesting opportunities for birds,’ he notes. ‘Shingle islands were created in the brackish area to provide a home for avocets – there were never any here before – little ringed plovers and oystercatchers. Marsh harriers are fairly common, spoonbills now visit, there are dozens of skylarks and Steart’s been recognised as a Priority Site of Local Importance by the British Dragonfly Society.’

Creating Steart Marshes was a partnership between WWT and the Environment Agency

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Blue Carbon, 3

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Blue Carbon, 4

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Thanks to your membership, you’re already supporting our work to create, restore and protect wetlands, which helps in the fight against climate change. But if you’d like to do more to help us continue our vital wetland conservation work during this global pandemic, please support our emergency appeal today: wwt.org.uk/emergency You can also help fight climate change by making small lifestyle changes such as drive less and at the right speed; fly less; use less energy at home; reduce your meat consumption; stop buying peat for gardening; buy local and from climate-friendly businesses or write to your MP. For more ideas on how to help wetlands, visit wwt.org.uk/wetland-friendly-living

Mangrove forests like this one in Fiji in the South Pacific are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world. If left undisturbed, their soils act as long-term carbon sinks

CLIENT

growth and sediment trapping, mangroves sequester perhaps four times as much carbon as other tropical forests, and store an estimated five billion tonnes globally in total.

Away from the oceans, peatlands – created when dead vegetation accumulates in waterlogged landscapes over hundreds or even thousands of years – are highly carbon-dense sinks. Known peatlands cover some 3% of the planet’s land, but store twice as much carbon as all of Earth’s standing forests and at least one-third of the world’s organic soil carbon.

Clearly, then, it’s critical that we protect and, where possible, restore such habitats.

‘Wetlands are on the front line in the fight against climate change,’ reports Julia, ‘yet risk being hit the hardest by its impacts, with predicted fluctuations in water and rainfall patterns, and more extreme weather events.’

A third of the planet’s wetlands have disappeared since 1970; England has lost 90% since Roman times. Seagrass

‘Wetlands are on the front line in the fight against climate change, yet risk being hit the hardest by its impacts’ 46

Waterlife

meadows are declining by around 10% of their known extent annually; the area of seagrass in UK waters shrank by 92% over the past century. More than one-third of the world’s mangrove forests may have been lost between 1980 and 2000, felled for their wood and to make way for aquaculture. Peat is dug up for fuel and compost, and in many areas is being drained or simply drying out as the climate warms; the stored carbon currently being released back into the atmosphere from peat is equivalent to nearly 6% of global human CO2 emissions.

THE POWER OF BLUE CARBON

Coastal wetlands and peatlands are often complex and fragile ecosystems, easily disrupted by human actions and climate change, and vulnerable to being lost as sea levels rise over the next century. Action is needed – and it’s being taken. Seagrass meadows are being restored – indeed, in March 750,000 seeds were planted off Pembrokeshire in the UK’s biggest seagrass restoration project. Conservation groups are working to protect mangrove forests.

And schemes such as the realignment project at Steart Marshes, creating homes for avocets and egrets, are playing their part.

Climate change isn’t just a black-and-white issue, which is why we’re championing wetlands and the power of blue carbon. Q

Jurgen Freund/naturepl.com

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SUMMER MIGRANTS Every summer, some of the UK’s most exciting and rare migrant birds return to our wetlands from around the world.

Here’s our pick of the season’s top hits…

WORDS BY DOMINIC COUZENS

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COMMON TERN

NPL / Guy Edwardes

1

Over most of the country, this is the only tern you will see inland, and it is by far the most common at our WWT centres.

Terns are more delicate versions of gulls, with the same white plumage, but with more pointed bills, sharper wing tips and sharper tails, the latter V-shaped like that of a swallow. They fly with deliberate, rather heavy beats, and have a habit of pointing their heads down as they fly.

All our terns are essentially summer visitors, arriving in April and leaving in September. They feed by hovering over the water and plunging down to grab a fish or crustacean from the surface, making a splendid splash as they go in.

They breed in colonies that, at the very least, equal the racket made by gulls. These are located on islands in lakes and lagoons, and also on beaches, where birds can be seen coming and going with fish in their bills.

In the early breeding season, the male brings fish in for the female at the nest site and passes them over to her in a charming ceremony. However, if the female deems that a male’s provision isn’t enough, she will desert him for another male. Terns will sometimes commute several tens of kilometres between their colony and fishing areas, so you may see them flying overhead.

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91WTLJUL20137.pgs 02.07.2020 16:40

Summer Migrants, 1

N

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his summer, like every other summer, WWT reserves are alive with migrant birds, whose arrival from Africa coincides with the warm weather and long days.

‘The wetlands themselves are doing really well despite everything we have been through,’ says Adam Salmon, Reserve Manager at WWT London Wetland Centre.

‘All the breeding birds have been settling down and doing their thing, just as they do every year. The summer is an incredibly busy time here. It comes alive with noise, hustle and bustle. And one of the best things is that we can enjoy the migrant birds, which coincide with the warm weather and long days. I love it!’

Here are a few choice species to look out for at WWT centres and elsewhere during the summer...

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GARGANEY

Famous as the only British duck to be a strictly summer visitor, the garganey, which can be seen here between March and September, should be equally infamous for hiding. In early spring, it makes a welcome appearance, the male’s half-moon head stripe obvious, its plumage fresh as the season.

But once May sets in, the garganey all but disappears, retiring to a few well-scattered dense marshes and becoming highly secretive. The British breeding population is fewer than 100 pairs, some of which are at WWT Welney.

When it re-emerges in autumn, the garganey has another surprise: the male has lost his looks and resembles a female teal so closely it takes a long hard look to tell them apart. Giveaways include a longer neck, lengthier bill and dark stripes on the head.

‘Even so, picking one out from a group of teal is hard,’ says Adam. ‘They don’t help by sleeping a lot of the time with heads tucked under wings!’ Britain is on the edge of their range, so the garganey is a special bird to see – a birder’s bird – in any year.

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HOBBY

The bird that discovered fast food long before people did, the hobby is a falcon with scimitarshaped wings and a serious turn of speed.

In summer and autumn, wetlands are among its main hunting grounds, because it cannot resist the lure of one of its major foodstuffs – dragonflies. Naturally, these abound beside marshes and wetlands, and the hobby makes a beeline for these with the alacrity of humans making for cafés after Covid lockdown.

Something of a commuter, the hobby will overfly all kinds of habitat, including gardens, in its search for summer snacks. Look for its distinctive shape, which is very swift-like, but the hobby lacks the manic flight style of the smaller bird, moving much more slowly and menacingly – until it spots flying food, which signals dynamic and rapid acceleration. It catches all its food – dragonflies, birds and even bats – in the air, snatching them in its talons. Dragonflies are passed to the mouth in flight before the hobby resets itself and resumes its spectacular sweeps low over the water or reedbed – a fair-weather marvel.

NPL / David Kjaer

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CUCKOO

Not everyone would call the cuckoo a wetland bird, but a significant proportion of British cuckoos parasitise the nests of a species that undoubtedly is – the reed warbler.

Any female cuckoo raised in a reed warbler nest will grow up to lay her own eggs in a reed warbler nest. The lure of their host – combined with the abundance of insect food supplied by wetlands – brings them to marshes.

By now cuckoos are either moving around, ready to migrate south, sometimes as early as June, or their young are ready to leave the nest.

Look out for a sharp-winged hawk-like bird that characteristically keeps low and – the clinching factor – when flying, never looks to raise its wings above the horizontal.

By summer cuckoos have fallen silent and can be very secretive, seeking out their favourite meal of hairy caterpillars.

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LITTLE RINGED PLOVER

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The little ringed plover treats Britain the same way Gordon Ramsay treats Cornwall – very much as a second home. It bred here for the first time in 1938, and though the bird’s population has expanded considerably since then, its numbers only amount to just over 1,000 pairs countrywide.

It is a mysterious wader, seeming to prefer transitory habitats such as gravel workings for breeding, although any suitably shallow, shingly lagoons with fresh water will do. ‘Superficially, it looks like its relative, the common ringed plover, but is altogether daintier, with a dark bill and a distinctive bright-yellow eye ring,’ says Adam.

It is also a little more feverish in its movements, with a flatter stance and, when flying, lacks the bulkier bird’s white wing bar. In flight, it honestly looks more like a swallow or martin than a wader, similar in size and with jinking flight.

Look out for a small wader running fast and then stopping abruptly, then running and stopping again – this is the typical plover way of feeding. It breeds on several WWT reserves, including Martin Mere.

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YELLOW WAGTAIL

This is the buttery-yellow wagtail that often feeds at the feet of cattle and horses and gives a loud ‘sweep’ call when disturbed. It is easily confused with the grey wagtail which, to muddle us, has bright citrine-yellow underparts and is also a wetland bird, found in Britain all year, usually by rivers.

The yellow wagtail, though, is a true migrant, arriving in April and leaving in September, breeding on wet pasture and arable farmland, these days mostly in east and central England.

‘It is easiest to see after breeding, when it often gathers in excitable parties, leaping from the ground to snatch flying insects in mid-air,’ comments Adam.

Once a staple of Britain’s birdlife, this charming wagtail has declined enormously in recent years, so catching up with it is a prime summer birding treat. It’s something you might see at any of our reserves at this time of year.

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SAND MARTIN

NPL / Alan Williams

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By far the least familiar of our small aerial birds, the sand martin can be difficult to pick out from the usual swallows and house martins. However, you can see it almost anywhere when it is foraging, away from where it breeds on sandy riverbanks, cliffs and gravel workings.

It is slight in build compared to its near relatives and has a weaker and more ‘fluttery’ flight than the others, seldom gliding far and often holding its wings close to its body. It lacks the white rump of a house martin and the long tail of a swallow, but is still easily overlooked. You might even hear its gravelly call.

It makes a hole in a bank for its nest, and almost all birds breed in busy colonies.

‘You can get a great view of a colony at London Wetland Centre, where there is a purpose-built bank for the birds,’ says Adam. ‘Most years we have 90% occupancy.’

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PHOTO COMPETITION VERSION

SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY

BY ROGER HEWITT WWT LLANELLI

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photo competition

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Photography is a great way to connect with nature and be more mindful. As our annual photo competition returns, we want to see the wetland wildlife that matters to you We’ve never had more time to reflect on the importance of nature in our lives.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, how many of us took the time not just to look, but to see? To discover the myriad shades of brown on a female eider’s breast, or observe how neatly a leafcutter bee snips semicircles from foliage to create cells for its young.

Photographers not only see these details and witness this behaviour, they enable all of us to enjoy it through their images. So this year’s annual photo competition is a particularly welcome window on the wild.

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period over which entries can have been taken. So this year, you can submit images taken at our centres not just in 2020, but since June 2019. All wildlife – ducks or damselflies, flamingos or frogs – and landscape scenes from our centres are welcome subjects.

We’re also introducing a new children’s category for young people aged 16 and under. We’ve been so impressed by the pictures young people have sent in to Wigeon Post, we felt they deserved their own category so they can discover and develop their own relationship with nature and tell the stories that mean something to them.

As usual, all entries will be judged

by Sophie Stafford, Waterlife’s editor and an internationally renowned wildlife photography judge, and a jury of WWT experts. A shortlist of winning and commended shots will be published in the March/June 2021 issue of Waterlife, and the overall winner will be awarded a pair of Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 binoculars worth £970.

The winner of the youth category will receive £200 worth of vouchers to spend at cliftoncameras.co.uk.

You have until 30 November 2020 to enter and be in with a chance of winning these great prizes. For full details and the rules, visit wwt.org.uk/waterlifephoto

Photo Competition, 1

MALLARDS SQUABBLING

BY LYN IBBITSON-ELKS WWT WELNEY

WIN!

SWAROVSKI CL 8X30 BINOCULARS WORTH £970!

To enter, and for the full rules, visit wwt.org.uk/waterlifepho to

‘We’ve never had more time to reflect on the importance of nature in our lives. So this year’s annual photo competition is a particularly welcome window on the wild’

AVOCET PREENING

BY JANE LAWRIE WWT SLIMBRIDGE

Make the most of every wildlife sighting with the Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 binoculars. These elegant binoculars are perfect for seasoned birders and novice nature lovers. They offer lightweight, rugged durability and amazing performance, and fit perfectly in your hand. Enjoy unique wildlife experiences wherever you go. swarovskioptik.com

285 723 6800(5 3+272 7,36 7,3 &KRRVH \RXU PRPHQW FDUHIXOO\ The long days of summer provide more light than any other time of the year, but the quality of light is not always ideal for photography. So be aware of the light changing and get ready to act when opportunity strikes.

7,3 7LPH LW ULJKW Aim to photograph at the end of the day when the sun is much lower, the light is warmer and softer, and the shadows longer.

clouds will add muchneeded interest to blue skies and create a mosaic of light and shade on the landscape. The diffused light of overcast days is also good for portraits.

7,3 /RRN IRU FORXGV When photographing summer landscapes, fair weather cumulus

7,3 /HW LW UDLQ Don’t pack up when it starts to rain. The period

after a squall passes through can be rewarding as it often clears the air, adding clarity and vibrancy to images.

Soaked moss, leaves and bankside vegetation is more vibrant and has a richer colour, too. A polariser filter will help increase contrast and

saturation, so keep one handy in your camera bag.

7,3 %H VXUSULVHG Go out as often as possible, keep your camera in your hand and just look at what’s going on around you. You might see something you’ve not seen before.

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NATURE IN ART In our course for photography enthusiasts, wildlife photographer David Tipling offers his helpful tips to improve your nature pictures at our centres

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different focal length lenses, by zooming in or out, to pick out that detail and capture your view.

Try different angles. Get up high and down low, and move around to see how the direction of the sun changes the appearance of your subject. Side lighting or shooting into the light will look very different to a conventional shot taken with the sun over your shoulder.

Take photographs at the start or end of the day. It’s easier to create more atmospheric pictures when the sun is low in the sky. Above all, don’t be afraid to experiment. You need to let your imagination run wild to create some art!

U LOOK FOR DETAIL The detail within a landscape can sometimes be more interesting than the wider view. These patterns made by sand and the reflection of the sky were exposed at low tide. For this type of image to work, a large depth of field is required, so the nearest and farthest points in the picture are in focus.

Images by David Tipling

T

here’s a lot more to nature photography than merely capturing a record of what we’ve seen. Wildlife photography can be as much a form of artistic expression as any other area of creativity. Composition, direction of light and choice of shutter speed and aperture are your tools, along with that other essential ingredient – creative flair.

To create an artistic image requires thought.

When pointed at a scene, a camera records everything in front of it, whereas the human eye is more selective and able to pick out pattern and detail. So you need to use your camera and

Avocet

Your wild photos

U GET REFLECTIVE Reflections often work best when part of a bird is visible, as with this avocet. Experimenting with compositions and capturing a range of images will widen your choice when you later review your pictures at home. Then you can make a better judgement as to what worked and what didn’t.

Grey heron

7KH ZLQQHU

of this issue’s photo contest is Roger Hance for his image of a snipe, a shy bird that shows well at many of our centres.

Roger says: ‘This shot of a snipe was taken last year at WWT Arundel from one of the public hides.’

RUNNER-UP

U CLOSE FOCUS Focusing in on a detail by using a shallow depth of field, as with this grey heron, creates pictures with lots of impact.

Individuals that are habituated to visitors may allow a close approach if you’re slow and careful. With an aperture of just f2.8 on a telephoto lens, focus was just on the bird’s eye.

Mute swans

I took this picture last February during a visit to Slimbridge. I had been trying for a long time to capture the Bewick’s swans landing on the water. Eventually I managed it!

Charles Kinsey, Bristol

WIN A COPY OF THE WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP Roger wins a copy of The Wildlife Photography Workshop by Ross Hoddinott and Ben Hall, worth £11.89.

Well done, Roger!

e

Images by David Tipling

U GET OUT EARLY The few minutes before and after sunrise can provide special, fleeting moments. Photographing into the rising sun over water can be very effective, as here when these two mute swans posed in dawn mist. Just be careful not to damage your eyes when looking through your camera towards the sun.

We’re always looking for your best photos taken at a WWT centre. Simply send them in to waterlife@ wwt.org.uk, along with a brief story, including where they were taken and what you saw, and you could be in with a chance of being published in this spot and winning a fabulous prize. Don’t miss out!

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We’d love to hear your thoughts about wetlands, WWT and Waterlife and to share your photos, so please email us at waterlife@wwt.org.uk

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Black magic To say I was captivated by the blacknecked grebes doesn’t describe just how deeply moved I felt when I saw them.

I hadn’t been to WWT Arundel for a few years, but on revisiting I took out a yearly membership and went back twice in one week to see these gorgeous little birds. I will be visiting some of the other centres too. The wetlands are full of exciting birds and I am thrilled to see them all. Watching their antics is mesmerising, and when they display it brings a tear to my eye it’s so beautiful.

Chrissie Whiffen, via email

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Fit for a king (1) This is my favourite snap from our first visit to WWT Llanelli last year. We had just set up when the kingfisher flew in and stayed posing for several minutes. What a smashing place and such friendly staff.

Calt Blake, Glanamman, Wales Otterly lovely (2) I visited the London Wetland Centre last year with my son and captured these photogenic little Asian short-clawed otters. I hope you like the photo. Once this virus is over, I would like to volunteer at WWT Arundel, the nearest centre to me.

Jane Johnson, via email

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WWT says: Thank you! All our volunteering opportunities will be back online as soon as possible at wwt.org.uk/volunteer or please email volunteering@wwt.org.uk if you have any further questions.

Dive, dive, dive! (3) This photo was taken at WWT Slimbridge in December. I was impressed by the way the black-headed gulls performed vertical dives into the water. This shot is quite amusing as the other gull appears to be looking on in awe.

Mark Stone, via email

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8. Mandarin duck 9. Little grebe 10. Greylag gosling

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Wild and windy (4) In March, my husband and I decided to escape all the talk of coronavirus and treat ourselves to a day out at WWT Martin Mere. Despite the cold wind, the birds did not disappoint and we had a good day photographing our favourites. The black-tailed godwits were busy feeding at the water’s edge while being buffeted by the wind. Martin Mere is a great haven for both birds and people. Many thanks to all who work there.

Rosemary Crocker, via email

Pink… but tough (6) This Chilean flamingo at WWT Martin Mere was enjoying a good wash even though it was a day in February cold enough to make me shiver. Keep up the good work and stay safe.

Paul Carter, Banks, Lancashire

Wonderful water vole (5) These dark days of staying indoors due to the hideous coronavirus have made me think about all the fantastic times I’ve spent at the London Wetland Centre. I also attended a great photography course at Slimbridge with Iain Green, on which we even saw a rare water vole swimming.

This is one of my favourite photos.

Martine Biddle, via email

Flying visit (8) On a visit to WWT Arundel, I was delighted to see that a wild mandarin in full colourful plumage had flown in to join the captive ducks as they fed. Having my own small lake, I enjoy talking to the knowledgeable wardens at Arundel to try to improve the management of my own birds. Looking after wildfowl is not easy – being part of a hotel, my lake can’t be

Lunch with the otters (7) I hope you like this photo I took at the otter feeding demonstration at WWT Washington. Keep up the fantastic work!

Paul Bowden, via email

totally enclosed, but I do have some mandarins in an enclosure. And every spring, wild mandarins visit to flirt with the females inside.

Roger and Sarah Kendall, via email Nature’s finest (9) It’s uplifting sights like this one taken by my 14-year-old daughter at London Wetland Centre – before we had ever heard of Covid-19! – that help us appreciate our dependence on the natural world for so many of life’s pleasant little surprises and that ‘feel-good’ factor.

Alan Radford, via email Protective parents (10) At WWT Slimbridge in March, this was one of three greylag goslings being protected by mum and dad from their admirers – us! – who were clearly suspected of being predators. A patient half hour was required to get a clear shot at a good angle!

John Crew, via email JULY/OCTOBER 2020

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During Covid-19, WWT took the difficult but necessary decision to close our centres and retain a small team to undertake essential works, while furloughing the rest of our staff to protect the charity. Rhys McKie continued caring for the animals at WWT Washington…

The strange thing about working

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under lockdown was that, on a day-to-day basis, little changed.

Animals needed to be fed, ponds and bowls needed to be cleaned, grass needed to be cut and the otters needed human interaction and stimulation. What did change was the number of people available to share the load – never have I missed my colleagues and our amazing volunteer team more.

One of my favourite things about

working at Washington is the people.

A small team remained at the centre and we did everything we could to support each other. The café became our new staffroom, with the tables arranged far apart so we could have a socially distanced lunch together.

We had to shout to be heard!

Working at the centre under

lockdown was physically exhausting and emotionally draining. There are daily challenges and difficulties that are just made easier by having your colleagues around.

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Rhys McKie Senior Collection Keeper, WWT Washington Wetland Centre

A joke over the radio or a witty comment left on a whiteboard helped to keep our spirits up. This would have been much harder without the others.

The reduced team and need to practise social distancing resulted in some creative ways of working. We reorganised the feed routine so one person could do it on their own, and we even figured out how one person could safely catch and treat birds that needed medical attention. Straddling a black swan to give it painkillers for a sore foot wasn’t easy.

I believe the animals missed the stimulation provided by the WWT team and visitors to the centre.

Before lockdown, the otters would interact with you for a while, then go back to what they were doing. The birds would move out of your way as you walked through their pen.

During lockdown, I might have been the only human they’d see all day.

The otters became more playful (one day Musa ignored the food and ran off with the tub I’d brought it in) and the birds would approach me when I walked past.

Even our flamingos – birds well

known for being highly strung and easily spooked – seemed excited

Waterlife chats to one of WWT’s Covid-19 heroes about what working life was like under lockdown when I’d enter their pen. The whole flock would march backwards and forwards in a loose formation, head flagging (straightening their necks to show off how fine they look) and displaying.

With fewer people around the

grounds, wild animals behaved differently too. A sparrowhawk grounded a pigeon just metres away from me. It didn’t seem concerned by my presence and continued to despatch the pigeon. Two avocets left Wader Lake to circle our exhibits, flying low and calling happily.

Spending most of your day

without seeing another person took time to get used to. If we bumped into each other (not physically), we’d jump out of our skins. More than once we had to dive into a toilet or perform an oddly artistic ‘social distance shuffle’ to maintain a safe distance from each other.

Lockdown reminded me just how

much I love what I do. Focusing on the health and happiness of the animals under my care was so therapeutic. I tried to take a moment every day to stop and look at where I was and what I was doing, because though the situation wasn’t ideal, there was a lot to be thankful for.

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