SLIMBRIDGE VISIT 25 04 2019 POOL 1 – (SWAN LAKE) Shelduck, Bewick swan, Lesser white fronted goose, Tufted duck, Eurasian lesser white fronted goose & Mute swan FLAMINGO POOL 1 – Andean flamingo, James/Puna flamingo, South georgian pintail, Black-headed duck & Rosybill WADER SHORE EXHIBIT – Ruff, Redshank, Avocet, Black winged stilt & Black brant goose ASIA POOL – White-winged duck, Fulvous whistling duck, Bar-head goose, Red breasted goose, Ruddy shelduck, Chinese spot-billed duck, Falcated duck, Lesser white fronted goose, Red crested pochard, Baer’s pochard & White-headed duck (Also seen in here were Bar-headed goose) BACK FROM THE BRINK EXHIBIT – Wigeon, Eurasian white fronted goose, Pintail, Goldeneye, Barnacle goose & Lesser white fronted goose OTTER EXHIBIT INCLUDING INDOOR AREA – Otter, European eel, White clawed crayfish, Water vole & Harvest mouse FLAMINGO LAGOON EXHIBIT – White-headed whistling duck, Maccoa duck, Cape teal, South african black duck, South african shelduck & Great flamingo LESSER FLAMINGO EXHIBIT – Lesser flamingo, Red-billed pintail & South african yellow-billed duck. NEXT TO LESSER FLAMINGO POOL – South african pochard & Blue winged goose AUSTRALIAN EXHIBIT – Black swan, Australian shelduck, Black-backed radjah shelduck, Australian black duck, Australian shoveler, Magpie goose, Wandering whistling duck & Hardhead. OPPOSITE AUSTRALIAN EXHIBIT – Magpie goose, Plumed whistling duck & Australian wood/Maned goose PUDDLEDUCK CORNER EXHIBIT – GEESE OF THE WORLD EXHIBIT – Bar-headed goose, Emperor goose, Red breasted goose, Lesser white fronted goose, Western greylag goose & Lesser snow goose Now we have small individual exhibits some containing a single species and some containing multiple species I will be walking round from the Geese world exhibit back towards the Otter Exhibit. OPPOSITE THE WORLD OF GEESE EXHIBIT – Lesser whistling duck, Baikal teal, Mandarin duck, Marbled teal & Ferruginous duck TO THE RIGHT WE HAVE – Freckled duck, Cape barren goose & Spotted whistling duck OPPOSITE THIS WE HAVE – Andean goose (a pair of) NEXT WE HAVE ON THE RIGHT – Ruddy headed goose TO THE RIGHT AGAIN WE HAVE – Greater Magellan goose Then we walk back around by the Otter pool with the new WETLAND EXHIBIT be built on the left, take the first left and then turn first right and walk towards the CANOE SAFARI going through the gate we now have a few mixed exhibits some small some rather larger. OPPOSITE THE CHILEAN FLAMINGO INDOOR EXHIBIT – Bronze-winged duck, Coscoroba swan, Puna teal & Ringed teal You can now walk towards the hides through a couple of gates these include – Kingfisher hide (Kingfisher is nesting in the bank opposite the far windows), Van de bovenkamp hide, Zeiss hide & Lathbury hide. Back to the exhibit species list now as we start to return to Swan lake exhibit. EXHIBIT OPPOSITE THE CHILEAN FLAMINGO ON THE CORNER LEADING TO THE OLD TROPICAL HOUSE PATH (now closed) – Rosybill, South american comb duck, Greater white cheeked pintail & Argentine ruddy duck. SOUTH AMERICAN EXHIBIT – West indian whistling duck, Black necked swan, Chilean flamingo, Chiloe wigeon, Patagonian Crested duck, Muscovy duck, Black bellied whistling duck & Red shoveler. NORTH AMERICAN EXHIBIT – American wigeon, Barrow’s goldeneye, Ring necked duck, Lesser scaup, Canvasback, Hooded merganser, Bufflehead, Tundra/Whistling swan, Richardson’s canada goose & Laysan duck TUNDRA EXHIBIT (Now being turned into ARTIC EXHIBIT OPENING SOON EIDER DUCK EXHIBIT – Eider duck, Smew, Common goldeneye, European greater scaup & Redhead EVERYWHERE BIRDS LOOSE – Greylag goose, Hawaiian Goose, Coot, Shelduck, Mallard, Canada goose, Moorhen, Jackdaw, Oystercatcher, Lesser white fronted goose, Tufted duck, Black headed gulls, Lesser black backed gulls, Wood pigeons, Feral pigeons & Rook Many species seen from the hides this was my complete list for the day just to clarify these species can change within a few minutes – SPECIES SEEN TODAY LIST Black headed gull, Lesser black backed gull, Common gull, Herring gull, Little gull, Mediteranean gull, Reed warbler, Cetti’s warbler, Sedge warbler, Lapwing, Shoveler, Shelduck, Avocet, Teal, Wigeon, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Redshanks, Bar-tailed godwit, Common crane, Great crested grebe, Ruff, Little ringed plover, Gadwall, Curlew, Chiffchaff, Cuckoo, Yellow wagtails, Pied wagtail, Grey wagtail, Buzzard, Treecreeper, Reed bunting, Blackbird, Starling, House martin, Blue tit, Great tit, Long tailed tit, Coot, Moorhen & Grey heron Will update PUDDLEDUCK CORNER shortly Will put pictures of the exhibits in the gallery shortly when sorted. Any questions please feel free to ask?
Forgot the following - opposite South/North American exhibits SOUTHERN/CRESTED SCREAMER EXHIBIT- Crested screamer
No none of those species seen I know they have some of the species are in other WWT collections would love to see them at Slimbridge though. The new Living Wetland exhibit as taken up the area were some of the CRANE species were kept. They do still have Cape barren goose if that's what you mean by Cereopsis not sure on this though.
Didn't see any and no signage for them around the collection either wonder if they are off show, the Red crowned cranes may also be off show as they were there last time I visited but not this time nor any signage for them.
The Common Cranes were in the main European/Back from the Brink lake, which is where they have been on show for years - not impossible they've been taken out since but I'd be surprised. The paddock where the Red-crowned were is now part of the construction area for the new complex next to the Back from the Brink building - I don't recall seeing those anywhere in January.
This is supposed to display the range of domestic variants of the wild mallard so; Rouen, Cayuga, Swedish Blue, Khaki Campbell, Buff Orpington, Silver Appleyard, Aylesbury, Pekin, Indian Runner, Crested and Call, to name some of the better known. However on a recent visit I saw only Call ducks of several colours, plus an odd Swedish Blue or Cayuga I think it was. I'm guessing your lists are compiled from the label boards rather than only species you saw. The genuine residents of some of the pens seem nowadays rather outnumbered by free flying infiltrators, particularly the hordes of greylag geese, unknown there I think in Peter Scott's day. I get the feeling the waterfowl collections aren't managed in quite the way they used to be.
Thank you for your review @AdrianW1963 , it certainly helps give a picture of WWT slimbridge. But I have to ask, what about the Madagascan species ? I thought they had Malagasy teal
My lists were actually species seen that's why I left Puddle duck corner empty as I didn't see anything in there. If there are species missing then it's because I didn't see them sorry
The person who passed the list's on to me as asked I donot put them on here because of previous problems (not sure what they were didn't ask) but I have a list from 1958 of my own and will update with this shortly.
I’ve got early Wildfowl Trusts which make fascinating reading. They held as many or more species, in larger numbers.
Yes, the early reports had detailed information about individual birds and species in the collection from the days when it was called the Severn Wildfowl Trust. I took a full set in lieu of a debt many years ago; all intact and current at the time. All are signed by Sir Peter on the fly-leaf, and he kindly continued to sign each years when I added it, until the year before he died. I'm not sure how many complete and full sets there are in existence; although I have not continued to add to it since his death.
Ooh. What a lovely thing to have. I’ve got quite a few of the early ones, but nothing like a full set.
It is nothing like it used to be. On my first visit after many years I noticed a big difference. The main 'lawns' are now heavily overgrazed to bare denuded patches by large numbers of feral greylags (entirely absent in the early days) which seem to be everywhere, with many Mute Swan too, while the smaller arctic species and other geese are reduced to a sorry handful in just one small area. I think more species of ducks are missing now also and small individual pens have mostly gone except for the aggressive sheldgeese..
Here follows a list of species and the exhibits they were held in around 1958. The Pen – Abyssinian blue winged goose, african black duck, African red billed pintail, Australian grey teal, Australian shelduck, Baer’s pochard, Bahama teal, Bar headed goose, Bewick swan, Black spur winged goose, Blue snow goose, Brazilian teal, Canada goose, Cape shelduck, Cape shoveler, Cape teal, Carolina duck, Cereopsis goose, Chilean pintail, Chilean teal, Chinese spot bill, Common pintail, Eastern Bewick swan, Eastern greylag goose, Emperor goose, European pochard, Falcated teal, Gadwall Greater magellan goose, greater snow goose, Greenland white fronted goose, Greylag goose, Lesser white fronted goose, Mallard, Mandarin duck, Maned goose, New Zealand scaup, Orinoco goose, Perry river white fronted goose, Philippine duck, Pink footed goose, Ruddy shelduck, Southern pochard, Spur winged goose, Sushkin’s goose, Swan goose, Tavarner’s goose, Western canada goose, Whistling swan, White fronted goose & Yellow-billed bean goose Orchard - American black duck, Bahama teal, Baikal teal, Chestnut breasted teal, Cinnamon teal, Eyton whistling duck, Falcated teal, Fulvous whistling duck, Hawaiian duck, Mandarin duck, Red backed radjah shelduck, Sharp winged teal, Southern red billed whistling duck & Wandering whistling duck North American Pen - American green winged teal, Blue winged teal, Cackling goose, Canada goose, Canvasback, Carolina duck, Common pintail, Dusky canada goose, Lesser scaup, Lesser snow goose (blue phase), Lesser snow goose (white phase), Northern American black duck, Northern American ruddy duck, Redhead, Ring necked duck, Tavarner’s goose & Trumpeter swan, South American Pen – American black duck, Andean cinnamon teal, Andean crested duck, Bahama teal, Brazilian teal, Hawaiian goose, Orinoco goose, Rosybill pochard, Southern pochard & Versicolour teal, The Woods – American black duck, Black swan, Hartlaud’s duck, Javan whistling duck, Magpie goose, Muscovy duck, Red backed radjah shelduck, Red billed whistling duck, Versicolour teal & Wandering whistling duck Rushy Pen – African red billed pintail, African yellow bill duck, American goldeneye, Bahama teal, Bar headed goose, Barnacle goose, Barrow’s goldeneye, Black brant, Canvasback, Cape teal, Carolina duck, Cereopsis goose, Chestnut breasted teal, Chile teal, Chiloe wigeon, Cinnamon teal, Comb duck, Common pintail, Common shelduck, Common shoveler, Common white eyed duck, Coscoroba swan, Dark bellied brent goose, Emperor goose, European eider, European pochard, European wigeon, Falcated duck, Fulvous whistling duck, Gadwall, Garganey, Goosander, Greenland white fronted goose, Greylag goose, Indian spot bill, King eider, Lesser white fronted goose, Light bellied brent goose, Macoa duck, Mallard, Mandarin duck, Marble teal, North American black duck, North American ruddy duck, Orinoco goose, Philippine duck, Puna Teal, Red breasted goose, Red breasted merganser, Red crested pochard, Ringed teal, Ring necked duck, Ross’s goose, Scaup, Smew, Southern pochard, Southern red billed whistling duck, South American comb duck, Tufted duck, Versicolour teal, White faced whistling duck & White winged wood duck. EXHIBIT NAMES – Orchard, Wood, Jungle, Decoy pool, Decoy side pens, Big pen, North American pen, South American pen, Mallard pen, Rushy pen, Rearing pen & South pen Grounds around collection – Tack piece & Long ground. Map provided below.
