Birdwatch News Archive

The London Wetland Centre is officially the nation's favourite nature reserve. Photo by Dominic Mitchell.

Bringing the countryside to London

Birdwatch news team
Posted on: 29 Aug 2012 Expires on: 01 Dec 2050

The London Wetland Centre in Barnes, south-west London, has been chosen as Britain’s Favourite Nature Reserve by members of the public, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) has announced.

First opened in 2000, the site covers more than 10 acres of land. The centre is home to a huge array of wildlife, with more than 200 bird species recorded, including Common Swift, Sand Martin and Bittern, as well as butterflies and moths, dragonflies and damselflies, wildflowers and seven species of bat. There are six hides and family-friendly visitor centre, with a shop and restaurant.

All of this combined helped the centre to win in the Favourite Nature Reserve category of BBC Countryfile Awards.

Adam Salmon, Reserve Manager at the London Wetland Centre, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this prestigious award and I would like to thank everyone who voted for us. We work hard to create the right habitats for the 180 bird species that come here each year, not to mention the thriving Water Vole colony, bats, dragonflies and grass snakes that inhabit our 105 acres. One of our greatest successes is the fact that Bitterns spend the winter in our reedbeds, as you would normally expect to see them in places like Norfolk.”

Click here for more information on the London Wetland Centre.