Bufflehead

Bufflehead are brilliant. They hatch from the tiniest of eggs into veritable balls of monochrome fluff, and their bold black caps and soft dark eyes prove to be very captivating. As the very smallest of the divers they are exceptionally delicate, easy to
dehydrate and very difficult to feed.

In recent years we have struggled to breed any at all, pairs either refusing to copulate or even refusing to simply associate with one another. Many solutions to these problems have been proffered; from the size of nest box holes to inappropriate genetics, but as yet nothing has worked for us. In 2010 we threw our cards on the table and swapped the lot for a new group of young strapping juveniles. Hopefully in 2012 Slimbridge will see some success...

Something has happened however down at our Arundel wetland centre. In the first week of June a large clutch of Bufflehead eggs were delivered to the Slimbridge duckery which displayed remarkable fertility and exceptional quality. These dumpy eggs sat dutifully in our incubators until they inexorably began to hatch, revealing 7 wonderful ducklings. These birds were split into two small groups, and we began to systematically teach them to feed. This involved petri-dishes of water, soaked 35% Lundi food, chick crumb, a water drip and a whole lot of patience.

Bufflehead and many other divers hatch out into a wild world of creepy crawlies and live food. When faced in captivity with a bowl of static food, their inquisitive natures often prove insufficient for the challenge... Over the years staff here have discovered that a jam jar of water placed in a petri-dish of soaked Lundi often does the trick of luring them over... As they physically move about, the glass reflects their movement in the light of the heat lamp and they are tempted  to investigate. As the Lundi is a soaked food, it is a 2in1 meal for a little Buff; instantly helping them to simultaneously hydrate. After they have the hang of it and there are some lovely dark poos in their coop, we slowly wean them onto dry Lundi and then onto crumb.

In the second picture you might be able to discern a little Puna Teal. "Why" I hear you ask? As these Buffs were so important to us we decided to provide them with a surrogate or two. The theory goes that placing a dabbling species such as a Teal or slow growing Mallardy type within the group can teach a non-dabbler to feed by example. As the yolk sack of the young teal is absorbed the innate need within them to shove their beak into surrounding objects to ascertain whether they are edible or not kicks in with a vengeance. Upon finding edible foodstuffs they do such a good job of enjoying it, that divers try to get in on the action and learn to feed by example. In this case it worked an absolute treat, and on day three I regularly found the entire brood scampering away from the Lundi dish every hour or so.

As you can see the 7 have been re-united along with 3 other Buffs sourced from a local breeder, and they are happily ensconced within our fresh water diving tanks, feathering up and frolicking.

The other centre which commonly holds Buffs is the Llanelli centre, but the age range of the birds there is at the higher end of the spectrum. Despite this we have received positive early reports, so with fingers AND toes crossed, maybe we can mesh two broods in 2011 for future breeding success!

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