WWT Washington Wetland Centre is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

reserve managed by the

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. History The trust was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as the Severn Wildfowl Trust. ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

. Established in 1975, its wildlife includes

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s, a family of Asian short clawed otters and a flock of

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at a height of closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was previously considered a subspecies before being classified ...

s. WWT works towards the conservation of wetlands and has a successful breeding program for some of the world's most endangered wildfowl. Included in the site is a nature reserve with hides to watch the wildlife, a saline lagoon and dragonfly ponds in which large species of dragonfly live along with newts, frogs and toads. The park sells bags of seed that can be used to get an up-close and personal encounter with most of their birds whilst feeding them. Species kept at the park include: *

Andean goose The Andean goose (''Chloephaga melanoptera'') is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds ...

Baer's pochard Baer's pochard (''Aythya baeri'') is a diving duck found in eastern Asia. It is a bird in North and Central China, and formerly bred in southeast Russia and Northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and India. Baer ...

* Black necked swan *

Black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

Common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') an ...

Eider The eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks and some other ducks and geese are used to fill pillows and qu ...

Hawaiian goose The Nene (''Branta sandvicensis''), also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The Nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Hawaii. In 1957, it w ...

Mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

Red-breasted goose The red-breasted goose (''Branta ruficollis'') is a brightly marked species of goose in the genus ''Branta'' from Eurasia. It is currently classified as vulnerable species, vulnerable by the IUCN. Taxonomy and etymology The red-breasted goose ...

Ringed teal The ringed teal (''Callonetta leucophrys'') is a small duck of South American forests. It is the only species of the genus ''Callonetta''. Usually placed with the dabbling ducks (Anatinae), this species may actually be closer to shelducks and b ...

Spur-winged goose The spur-winged goose (''Plectropterus gambensis'') is a large, Sub-Saharan African waterbird in the family Anatidae, which includes geese and shelducks. However, ''P. gambensis'' developed unique environmental adaptations, which resulted in t ...

White-faced whistling duck The white-faced whistling duck (''Dendrocygna viduata'') is a whistling duck that breeds in sub-Saharan Africa and much of South America. This species is gregarious, and at favoured sites, the flocks of a thousand or more birds arriving at dawn ...

References

External links

Tourist attractions in the City of Sunderland Nature reserves in Tyne and Wear Washington, Tyne and Wear Nature centres in England {{TyneandWear-geo-stub