What does one do with four London reservoirs surplus to requirements? Fill them in and build houses? Use them as a marina? Peter Scott, a great naturalist and nature painter (and son of the ill fated polar explorer Robert Scott) had the idea of turning the area into a wildfowl and wetlands nature reserve, the first urban project in Britain. And his idea won!
London’s wildfowl and wetlands centre in Barnes, patron Prince Philip, opened in 2000 and has been voted the most popular nature reserve in the UK.
What does one do if one is free on an exceptionally fine autumn day in London? Forget the museums and take to one of the amazing open spaces which this city is famous for!
We were at the centre in time for the otters’ feeding time. These intelligent and vivacious creatures, so long hunted down, are now thankfully established in every English county. It was such fun to see them playing with and chasing each other. One of the wardens gave us a great insight into these animals too.
The reserve has two main routes. The western route takes in more non-native species and some wetlands simulate such areas as the Iraqi marshes, the Ganges delta and the Congo basin. There was even a section on the Australian reserve of Kakadu. We received some excellent information on cranes (the winged variety) by a girl warden from Sri Lanka.
Hides enabled us to secretly observe bird species which can’t be found easily anywhere else in the London area: gadwall, sand martins, great crested grebes, northern shovellers and black-necked swans, for example.
The eastern circuit takes in more native species and culminates in a three storied hide which gives a fabulous view over the whole area. It truly feels like one is miles away from one of the world’s great urban centres.
We spent an idyllic afternoon here. Even if you can’t distinguish between a pigeon and a widgeon you will find so much to inspire you in the interplay of water and earth, the infinite variety and stunning patterns of the wildfowl and the astonishing quality of the light in this very special part of London.
As a lover of wildfowl and with two muscovy ducks of my own, Flip and Flop, I thought this was one of the best times I’ve spent in the ‘great wen’.
Here are a few visual memories from yesterday:
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