Wildfowl and Wetlands

That might sound a strange title to anyone not familiar with the London WWT (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust). In case you have never heard of it, the London WWT is a 42 hectare site located on the banks of the River Thames and is home to rare and beautiful wildlife with several hides and viewing observatories. We had been wanting to visit it for some time so when the sun came out (quite surprisingly) on a Sunday in late May, we decided to give it a go.

It was quite an enjoyable day. The WWT is pretty well organised and well laid out with pathways and signposts. In addition to a number of birds and insects, there are several interesting "sculptures" made out of recycled materials which we found quite amusing.

Fishing and biking

Steely bird watcher

There were a couple of these herons in different parts of the wetlands. They were not moving at all and were so still that many of the visitors thought they were sculptures/statues. Normally they would be like this when hunting for fish but this was not the case here - they just stood stock still without moving for long periods of time - very eerie.

Lots of flowers especially daisies. I tried to get some good bokeh and backgrounds - came out nicely I thought :)

Standing out in a crowd

Daisy is all alone

Shining Light

Saw several damselflies and dragonflies but had a lot of trouble trying to get them in focus. They were flutttering about too much. You need a lot of patience or skill (I lack both) to get a proper shot of these guys

Strangely, not many butterflies though. I would have expected much more than the 2 or 3 that we saw.

Finally, this is a shot of some moss/plant growing the roof of a hide - do you see what I see? Hint: "Proposal?"

For a quite and relaxing day out, especially for taking some nice shots and practicing your photography skills, the London WWT is an ideal place to go to. Highly recommended.