Wakelam's Wildlife: Welney Wetland Centre, a spectacle not to be missed Published Nov. 25, 2008 By Judith Wakelam 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Here in the United Kingdom there are many who would give anything to escape our long, dark winters -- I confess that by the end of February I'm one of them. The thought of sunshine and warmth is particularly appealing on a cold, foggy day. But as we all know, there are always exceptions and there are some who actually visit us in winter by choice. For them we are the ultimate winter destination. One such visitor provides us with a spectacle not to be missed, and it happens within a 20-mile drive from RAF Mildenhall. For me, no winter is complete without at least two visits to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trusts Reserve at Welney washes, across the border in Cambridgeshire. A day-time visit and an evening visit are a must. A visit on a dark cold winter's evening I hear you say, "Is she crazy?" Well no I'm not; at least not on this occasion! In fact, I consider myself very fortunate indeed to be able to observe one of nature's most amazing spectacles and so close to home. From mid October onwards Welney will be the destination for many species of overwintering wildfowl, and the most spectacular of these visitors are the swans. At Welney you can see not just the resident mute swans but visiting whooper swans that arrive from their breeding grounds in Iceland and the smaller bewick swans that make the long journey all the way from Siberia. Both these species are quite different to our mute swan, being more slender and having black and yellow bills, as opposed to orange. You may be wondering why I get excited at the thought of seeing swans. Well, when I say swans, I don't mean just a few swans -- I mean a few thousand swans! Some years as many as 9,000 are recorded and that's a lot of swans in any language! As soon as it gets too cold in their breeding grounds they will make the long journey to either Welney, Slimbridge in Gloucestershire or Martin Mere in Lancashire. They will have flown literally hundreds of miles during their round trip and thousands of miles in a lifetime. Some, as cygnets, have been fitted with rings, each bearing a unique number. These rings enable scientists to learn about their migration, and pinpoint where they go. Many ringed birds are recorded returning to Welney year after year. For the reserve's wardens it can be a nerve-wracking time waiting to see if they will re-appear. Swans tend to pair for life, so it's a relief to see them return accompanied by their mates and with their latest offspring. They fly in as a family unit. During the day they can be seen spread over a large area feeding on farmland that surrounds the 1,000-acre-plus reserve, along with large numbers of wintering geese. But the evening is a special time. It's then that the swans return to the reserve to roost for the night, and it's possible to hear and see them close up, along with hundreds of ducks of various species. Every afternoon and evening the wardens provide food for them in the form of grain which is distributed in front of a large elevated, heated observatory, that looks out over the floodlit water. From here you can see this fantastic natural spectacle in comfort, from now until February, when the swans will begin the return journey back to their breeding grounds, until next winter when the whole process is again repeated. Welney has a large eco-friendly interactive visitor centre with an impressive bridge that leads from the main building across a road and river onto the reserve. Lots of information is available and a warden is on hand to answer any questions. There is also a shop and cafeteria. Like the swans, I too am a creature of habit. I return to Welney every winter to marvel at this wonderful spectacle of nature, but I also return in the spring, summer and autumn as Welney offers something of interest all year round. Because Welney is prone to serious flooding at certain times of the year it's a good idea to check the conditions before you set out and for evening visits it's advisable to book, as the observatory accommodates a limited amount of people. For more information and reserve opening times contact: WWT Welney Wetland Centre Hundred Foot Bank, Welney, Nr. Wisbech, PE14 9TN T: 01353 860711. E: info.welney@wwt.org.uk Editor's note: This article originally appeared on our Web site Nov. 25, 2008. .