London Wetland Centre is 25 years old. Deana Luchia meets warblers, otters and a couple of managers too...
I’ve just spent a fabulous morning at the WWT London Wetland Centre in Barnes.
This is my first visit and I’m astonished at the beauty and scale of this 105-acre site. Birds call to each other across the lake, marshlands and meadows; fluttering in the sunlight are dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies; two little otters play in a pond.
Robert Chadwick WWT
This is on my doorstep. Why haven’t I been here before?
Wetlands are unique, biodiverse ecosystems that support 40% of all wildlife and plants.
They also offer protection from floods, act as carbon sinks (absorbing carbon) and provide a livelihood for millions of people.
Yet, they’re disappearing faster than forests: between 1970 and 2015, around 35% of the earth’s precious wetlands were lost.
Establishing man-made wetlands in London was the idea of conservationist Sir Peter Scott, founder of what would eventually become the WWT (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust).
Built on the site of four disused reservoirs, the centre’s huge lake, grazing marsh, lagoons and wader scrape (a shallow pond for wading birds) took five years to create.
Leslie Cater WWT
It’s a uniquely urban slice of nature
Surrounded by houses, with tower blocks just beyond the main lake and frequent aeroplanes passing overhead, the centre is a much-needed home for birds, insects, animals and plants that also offers a green respite to city dwellers.
When it opened in 2000, Sir David Attenborough called it “an extra lung for London”, and it certainly feels like that today.
I’m being shown around by General Manager, Alexia Hollinshead and Reserve Manager, Adam Salmon, to talk about the centre’s 25th anniversary.
There’s a lot to celebrate: not only is the Wetland Centre thriving, but it’s so far welcomed four million people through its doors, some of whom will have been lucky enough to see the rare and vulnerable migrating birds spotted here: shovellers, bitterns, Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers.
Tom Hines WWT
It’s a birdwatcher’s paradise
My tour begins in the large observatory facing the main body of water.
Edged by dense reed beds, the huge lake attracts different species throughout the year.
“We’ll get Bearded Tits in winter if we’re lucky,” says Adam, binoculars poised.
He points out a Tufted Duck, Common Terns on a nest raft and, on the reed’s edge, a pochard.
Whilst the site is home to 50 or 60 resident species (including the UK’s only resident warbler – Cetti’s Warbler), most of the birds are summer and winter migrants.
For some, the centre is a place to refuel and rest before continuing on their journey; for others, it’s the final stop on their migration route and where they will breed and raise their young.
Robert Chadwick WWT
Nor is the centre just a lifeline for birds
In addition, it is also home to foraging bats, slow worms, grass snakes, frogs, water voles, lizards, myriad plants and trees and 26 different types of dragonfly, including the Norfolk Hawker, the Ruddy Darter and the Black-tailed Skimmer.
I am easily and giddily distracted by dragonflies, but today my attention is drawn elsewhere: to the incongruous site of three large golden-coloured cows eating by the water’s edge.
“They’re Dexters,” says Adam, who goes on to explain their twofold purpose.
Not only does the centre “save on mowing” – it requires intensive year-round maintenance – but the Dexters’ dung draws insects which, in turn, attract birds and bats.
“Yellow Wagtails love to visit in April, May and September. They follow the cows around, picking insects off them,” he explains.
Robert Chadwick WWT
Being in nature is a proven antidote to stress and anxiety, and there’s a wonderful sense of calm to be found in wandering around the centre with its water, its birdsong, the gentle rustling of reeds and the buzzing bees. The city is just there but it seems so far away.
“It’s like you’re in a far-flung jungle on the other side of the world,” agrees Alexia who, living on site, gets to wake each day to the sound of marsh frogs singing (later I listen to recordings of them and it’s utterly joyful).
Many people, I imagine, come here for time to themselves as well as to spot wildlife. There are lots of places just to sit and close your eyes and let nature work its magic. I’m not surprised when Alexia tells me of an increase in younger couples visiting, “wanting to escape burnout and decompress”.
James Lees WWT
What else has changed since the centre opened?
Inevitably, the talk turns to climate change.
While wetlands help to combat the phenomenon, they’re also highly vulnerable to it themselves.
Hopefully, though, increasing awareness of how vital they are to the future of the planet will ensure their survival.
“We want as many people as possible to engage and connect with the Wetland Centre,” says Alexia.
As well as being accessible for wheelchair users and those with buggies, the centre has recently introduced a universal credit ticket price (£5).
It also runs a successful schools programme teaching children about the importance of wetlands with activities such as pond dipping, while other attractions include family-friendly hides, play and picnic areas, a sound garden and, for the summer, a Dragonfly Festival.
Ben Cherry WWT
For many younger visitors, however, the star attractions are the two little otters: Tod and Honey. These furry superstars are Asian Short-Clawed Otters – the smallest otter species, and endangered, with only 5,000 in the wild.
When Tod and Honey make an appearance – playing in their pond, or scurrying around their enclosure waiting for their keeper to feed them – the excitement from the gaggle of primary school kids gazing with rapt attention is palpable.
Who can resist an otter? I know I can’t.
Robert Chadwick WWT
After the thrill of this adorable aquatic duo, I explore a bit more by myself. I pass birdwatchers, families and other lone visitors, but it’s all still remarkably tranquil.
Crossing a low-hung wooden bridge, I marvel at the perfectly constructed nest on top of the water lilies – probably home to the moorhen that swims close by – and stumble upon a family of geese, Mum and Dad keeping careful watch over their beautiful, green-tinged, fluffy goslings.
Finally, I make my way to the top of the Peacock Tower – a three-storey hide with lifts – and look out over the vast site, taking in the three golden cows still eating in the distance, the swaying reeds, the birds flying above the lake.
And I think of all the wildlife I can’t see, the hundreds of thousands of lives that need this remarkable resource.
And of the lucky people who get to spend the day here. I’ll definitely be back.
wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/london; London Wetland Centre is open daily except Christmas Day; Dragonfly Festival runs until Sept 22
