Visit to London Wetland Centre – WWF Barnes 25th March 2011
Anne and I had arranged to go to London to attend a friend’s 60th birthday party so we decided to go a day early and visit the WWT centre at Barnes. We got the tube to Hammersmith and then a number 283 bus from Hammersmith bus station (stand K) which is just at the rear of the tube station and the bus took us all the way to the entrance so it was all very easy getting there. As it was a week-day it was quite quiet apart from lots of school children on group visits but these were largely confined to the conservation section and few ventured into the “wild” section. It was a gloriously sunny day but not too warm to be comfortable.
We arrived about 10.30am (the journey did take over an hour from Euston) and discovered that we could get a guided tour of the site at 11am so we had a quick look around and a cup of tea and met the guide who told us something of the history of the site, its previous life as a reservoir and the acquisition by Sir Peter Scott of the land to be turned into a wetland centre. He then gave us a very interesting and informative tour of both the conservation areas of the site and some of the wild areas. He was knowledgeable about the birds and also the trees and other planting on the site. The conservation area has several habitat sections – tundra, volcanic etc that are sculpted – both naturally and artificially – to resemble the habitats around the world that the “conservation” birds usually live in. (see list below) After the tour of that section of the site we were led into the wild part where there are a number of hides overlooking scrapes and lakes. Walking around we met a few other birders who were able to point out a Sparrowhawk and three Lesser Redpolls – the latter being a first for me. We walked back round to the entrance to finish the guided walk and stopped for more tea. After that we walked around the parts of the site we had not yet seen and had a great afternoon of it. I also saw a Little Grebe which was a first for me as well.
Native Bird List
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Great Tit | 2 |
| Carrion Crow | 8 |
| Jackdaw | 2 |
| Magpie | 4 |
| Canada Goose | 4 |
| Egyptian Goose | 4 |
| Gadwall | 1 |
| Goldeneye | 1 |
| Greylag Goose | 4 |
| Mute Swan | 2 |
| Tufted Duck | 4 |
| Great Crested Grebe | 1 |
| Little Grebe | 2 |
| Sparrowhawk | 1 |
| Grey Heron | 1 |
| Chiffchaff | 1 |
| Long-tailed Tit | 2 |
| Robin | 4 |
| Ring-necked Parakeet | 1 |
| Woodpigeon | 4 |
| Lapwing | 10 |
| Coot | 10 |
| Moorhen | 2 |
| Redshank | 4 |
| Chaffinch | 1 |
| Greenfinch | 2 |
| Lesser Redpoll | 3 |
| Starling | 40 |
| Sand Martin | 1 |
| Blackbird | 1 |
| Pied Wagtail | 1 |
Conservation Bird List
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Smew Mergellus albellus | 6 |
| Red-billed Duck Anas erythrorhyncha | 1 |
| Wood Duck Aix sponsa | 1 |
| Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina | 1 |
| Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris | 1 |
| White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala | 1 |
| Madagascar Teal Anas bernieri | 1 |
| White-faced Whistling-duck Dendrocygna viduata | 1 |
| Rosy-billed Pochard Netta peposaca | 1 |
| Puna Teal Anas puna | 1 |
| White-winged Wood Duck, Asarcornis scutulata | 1 |
| Black Swan Cygnus atratus | 1 |
| Black-necked Swan Cygnus melancoryphus | 1 |
| Australian Yellow White-eye Zosterops luteus | 1 |
| Chiloe Wigeon Anas sibilatrix | 1 |
| South Georgia Pintail Anas georgica georgica | 1 |
| Ringed Teal Callonetta leucophrys | 1 |
| Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos | 1 |
| Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba | 1 |
| Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis | 1 |
| Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis | 1 |
| Brent Goose Branta bernicla | 1 |
| Common Eider Somateria mollissima | 1 |
| Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope | 1 |
| Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator | 1 |
| Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus | 1 |
| Bufflehead Bucephala albeola | 1 |
| Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus | 1 |
| Hawaiian Goose Branta sandvicensis | 1 |
| Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris | 1 |
| Laysan Duck Anas laysanensis | 1 |