A white duckling??
In a first for the centre, WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre, has hatched a pure white domestic duckling.
Grounds Manager, Steve Nasir, said: “Over the years Martin Mere has hatched literally thousands of domestic ducklings but this is the first time we have ever had a white duckling hatch – he really did make the staff look twice. Ducklings are usually yellow or shades of brown then grow up to be white ducks - it will be interesting to see what colour he becomes”
The duckling, named Casper, is going to be a star attraction at the forthcoming award winning Downy Duckling Week when families can get up close to hatching eggs and new born ducklings.
The event, from Saturday 28 May to Sunday 3 June, allows visitors to have this unique opportunity to discover how ducklings develop inside an egg, hatch out of the shell and develop in the duckling nursery. Centre Manager Nick Brooks said: “May half term offers some amazing experiences that are unique to Martin Mere. Children and adults of all ages can take part in fascinating egg candling workshops (where a light is used to look inside an egg), see eggs hatching and meet fluffy ducklings in the nursery.”
The event runs from 11am to 4pm, with the duckling nursery open between 11.30am and 3.30pm. Downy Duckling activities are included in the centre admission price; tickets to the egg candling workshop will be issued from the Visitor Services team as places are limited.
Steve Nasir continued “I don’t recall a year that has been this successful for hatchings – at the moment we have 10 species of birds in the grounds sitting on eggs including flamingos, black-necked swans, Eurasian cranes and bar-headed geese. In the last week alone the 4 black swan cygnets have hatched and a swan goose gosling. There will be so many youngsters to see, we are going to do a duckling trail around the grounds to ensure everyone can get to see everything – which is something we have never done before. Downy Duckling Week is going to be a great day out this half term.”
Martin Mere is open every day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30am to 6pm during summer months (and until 4.30pm during the winter) and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/martinmere/ to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight WWT Wetland Centres.
