What is a Duckery, you may ask?
It is an intensive care unit for rearing ducks and geese
from egg to young bird. All the birds in
this video have been reared at WWT at Castle Espie, County Down, Northern
Ireland. The specialist skills used enables
the wardens to achieve the unrivalled conservation work, thus helping to save
threatened bird species around the world.
I have taken another video of all the ducklings in the Duckery however before you see that, I will show you a few stills and a little information regarding some of them.
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Above and below there are Cape Teal ducklings at different stages of development. |
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| Ferruginous Ducklings
These have been put on the ’vunerable’ list in some parts of
the world. The female nests under bushes
near the water’s edge and the chicks are very nervous and while in the Duckery,
like to have the company of other ducklings to keep them calm.
|
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| Smew Ducklings |
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| Whistling adult ducks with their 4 ducklings |
Bufflehead Ducks (seen on video below)
The name ‘Bufflehead’ is a shortened form of
‘buffalo-head’. Normally these birds
nest in a tree hole made from by the Northern Flicker (a woodpecker) and has
sharp claws to cling to the bark and can squeeze through a 6 cm hole! They spend their summers in Alaska, central
and southern Canada, and in the winter are found in southern Alaska, east coast
of Canada and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of USA. I am sure many of you have seen these in the
wild.
Marbled Teal (seen on video below)
This is a very elegant bird and was once very common,
however now it is on the threatened list due to pollution of wetlands, hunting
and egg collection. Normally nest in
clumps of grass or even on roofs of huts.
It feed on seeds and invertebrates, dabbing and filtering mud. It spends its summer in Spain, north-west
Africa, Turkey, Middle East, Caspian area and south-west Asia. In winter, it can be found in North and West
Africa, Pakistan and Iran.
On the video I show you a great collection of 5 different ducks;
however I forgot to say that among them were some Wood and Mandarin ducks. Perhaps some of you will spot them?
Now the video can be accessed at http://youtu.be/Fr1NuNBDjyk
Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed hearing about the Duckery at Castle Espie and seeing all the ducklings they have at present.
MANY THANKS to ALL who left comments yesterday in any of my posts.
I appreciate ALL of them.
Margaret, it's good to see some of the work that goes on behind the scenes at the WWT. I take it that all of these ducklings will be put on display and non are destined to be put back into the wild.
ReplyDeleteI think I heard the chap on the video say that one species of duck there was not threatened in the wild so, if that's the case, why are they being captive bred? How is that relevant to conservation work?...[;o)
Hi The Herald,
DeleteOne reason we breed birds from around the world at our WWT Wetland Centres is to save species from extinction, for instance the Hawaiian geese that you can see at Castle Espie, but there are several.
While the Cape teal that you see in the video are thankfully doing well in the wild, they play an important role in engaging people with the story of wetlands around the world and the threats they face. They are part of the fauna of Lake Natron, a salt lake in Tanzania, which is under threat from a soda ash plant. Their specific adaptations make them a great example with which to introduce people to the form and function of wildfowl.
No less important is to ensure our expert aviculturists are prepared for all eventualities, by having unparalleled experience in breeding and caring for a range of bird types with a range of needs. Recently our aviculturists managed to avert the extinction of the Madagascar pochard, and we’re currently trying to achieve the same for the spoon-billed sandpiper – a very different bird.
The ducklings are so sweet! I enjoyed seeing them all.
ReplyDeleteAdorable!!
ReplyDeletefrom the moment the white-faced whistler family came on the screen to the end, i was smiling. SOOO cute. and such a variety of ducks!
ReplyDeletethe white-faced are so beautiful! such rich and varied colors. remarkably, their babies look very similar to the whistling ducks we have here. :)
I want a Smew Duck!
ReplyDeleteLovely ducklings, they are well looked after.
ReplyDeleteThey are just too sweet!! It's so good to see they are getting help when it's needed!!
ReplyDeleteTwo lovely videos and photos, thank you Margaret. I've never seen such a variety of sweet little ducklings, and the information was so interesting!
ReplyDeleteThese ducklings were so lucky to be there. The black and white Smews are so pretty, I have never even heard of them. Their beaks are a bit hooked on the end. Also the Whistling Ducks and their babies, so pretty...the babies with the grey and the yellow spots. I am guessing they really whistle?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing some of their hard work. The ducks are gorgeous. I love the 'babies'.... Makes me want to bring several home with me... ha ha
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Hugs
Betsy
Cute little guys..thanks for sharing this information!
ReplyDeleteMy Colorado duck hunt was made unforgettable by Birds & Bucks Outdoors; they provided excellent advice and the ideal locations for successful hunting!
ReplyDeleteColorado duck hunting