London Wetlands Centre, Barnes Visit, 21 September 2005

It was a beautiful day for our first visit to The London Wetlands centre at Barnes. On arrival we were welcomed by a member of staff and our first sighting was a pair of Mute Swans with two cygnets in one of the two ponds flanking the Visitors' Centre. The entrance hall and shop lead to a courtyard surrounded by modern buildings comprising a Theatre, Discovery Centre, Cafe and Observatory with its high tower giving a good view of the main lake.

As we made our way along the western side it was difficult to believe that a few years ago this area was the site of the Barnes Reservoirs with their sterile concrete banks. What has been done with sculpturing of the land and the planting of trees and shrubs has transformed the whole area.

The first section, entitled 'World Wetlands', features diverse types of wetland from many countries. Each pond contained the relevant wild fowl and, as near as possible, their natural habitats.

The trail led to the 'Wild Side', an area of pools and reed beds with the usual wetland plants, including Purple Loosestrife, Figwort, Meadowsweet, Water Forget-me-nots, Water Mint, Hemp Agrimony, Great Willow Herb, Michaelmas Daisy in flower and, of course, Phragmites fringing all the water.

At least twenty dragonfly and damselfly species have been recorded here and we saw many individuals on the wing. We identified the Common and Ruddy Darters and a large species of Aeshna, possibly A. cyanea, the Southern Hawker. There was a marked lack of butterflies even in the areas specially planted to attract: we saw only Speckled Wood and a few Small Whites; also scarce were wasps, just one or two feeding on flowering Ivy.

There were a lot of Moorhens and Coots all over the Centre and the Moorhens seemed to have had a very good breeding season as there were many brown juveniles. One of them had climbed the stem of a Great Willow Herb and was feeding on the seeds. We noticed a single Dabchick in one pond and an adult Great-Crested Grebe with two juveniles in the next pool. Mallard were, as usual, in evidence everywhere. We then visited the hide overlooking the Reservoir lagoon to the North. Here there were a lot Ruddy Duck, several pairs of Gadwall and some Teal.

After a picnic lunch we made our way along the southern side, coming eventually to the Peacock Tower. This overlooks the 'Grazing Marsh', the 'Wader Scrape' and part of the 'Main Lake'. Our attention was drawn to a large and handsome Fox that was hunting on the 'Grazing Marsh'. We continued to watch it as it hunted around the edge of the field.

From the Tower about twenty Herons were in sight, scattered over the Marsh and the islands of the 'Wader Scrape.' On the Scrape there were a number of Shovelers and more Gadwall. Another of the highlights of this area was Snipe - seven in all, three of which were close - and their plumage looked beautiful in the sunlight. Descending from the Tower we heard unusual calls and discovered the source was two young Dabchicks demanding food from an adult. We watched these for some time.

Making our way back through a more wooded area we spotted a Jay and a Blackbird and heard Robins, Wren and Blue Tits.

We enjoyed our day at the 'Wetlands Centre', where the walking is easy, with plenty of seats, hides and information stands. A visit is thoroughly recommended.

BRENDA CHAPMAN & OLIVE BOROUGHS