Arundel hatches it's first Nene chick; at Slimbridge!
Anything cute and fluffy is sure to get an "aaah" round these parts, but my personal belief is that nothing on earth beats the cuteness of a Nene gosling.
This particular gosling in question is very special indeed. Hatched to BBF, this little mite actually belongs to WWT Arundel! Moved to Slimbridge during the heavy flooding; this dedicated Nene pair arrived on site already ready to literally pop with eggs! They made a particularly make-shift nest bang slap in the middle of a holding pen in the field, and laid 3 eggs. I'm told that this particular young male has never been a dad before, but he took to the job of protecting her like a duck to water!
This female BBF is very close to my heart because she is used to be in my care... She used to be the young wife of old-timer AUD and occupy a territory in the Slimbridge Big Pen. I have always admired her because her ancient hubby wasn't a very good husband, and during the breeding season he would just stand around eating food out of the bucket when he had a job to do! Despite this regular abandonment they were a dedicated pair, and she certainly made up for his nonchalance by being a hissy little madam!
During their last season together on this earth they made an intrepid escape attempt! One morning the two of them were witnessed virtually waving to staff from bang in the middle of the Rushy pen, flanked by Bewick's! Much to the Reserve's annoyance they had to remain because we were unable to remove them without causing disturbance. Whether through hunger or intrigue, a couple of weeks later BBF wandered into the Top Hut yard alone. We caught her up and popped her in the field. Sadly AUD had passed away, and it just so happened that she found a new partner in one of the Nenes that been earmarked for Arundel. Softies that we are, I delivered dear old BBF to Arundel so that she could have a happy life with her new man.
And here he is! Currently without a Darvic ring, Mister Blue definitely seems to deserve my dear old girl. He has been a most excellent dad, and I have been met every morning with two protective hissing faces instead of one. During wet weather they would often sit breast to breast with her on the nest, weathering the rain together. He certainly is a particularly fine bird, with stunning neck feather definition and a beautiful buff cheek.
On day 20 I had a peek at her three eggs. 1 proved infertile, 1 addled and 1 fertile. I removed the addled one immediately, but left her with the other two. The reason being that leaving a bird with just 1 egg can cause them to abandon. In addition, if you allow them to hatch just one egg off they can smother the little gosling by sitting a bit tight during the latter stages of incubation. Leaving the infertile egg encouraged her to sit up a little higher ensuring that the little gosling could be aerated. When I saw a dry and fluffy head appear from under her wing, I slid the other egg away. BBF and Blue were left with their gorgeous little gosling safe and sound.
To keep them safe in such an exposed site as the side pens, I took two wind breaks down and created a sheltered triangle for them out of the wind. Within it I gave them a bit of straw, a bowl of crumb and a drinker. I was terrified that in the first few days the little gosling would need a drink and fall in the deep water before it was ready. Thank God, mum and dad also thought this was a good idea. And so it was a full 6 days before the little gosling met real water for the first time (above.)
BBF and Blue are fantastic parents. For every moment that a human is in the pen with them, mum stands behind, dad in front and the gosling in the middle. I sincerely hope that we can return the whole family to Arundel in due course for a bit of a home-coming celebration! BBF deserves the best!
