The season has been a wonderful one, with a large variety of good quality birds and species breeding.
A young female Hoodie resting up
These lovely Hooded Mergansers are typically one of the very first species to nest in an average season, laying a selection of between 5-10 creamy thick-shelled round eggs inside a cavity nesting box. These are then buried beneath a layer of cool compost in order to both help prevent moisture loss during clutching and insulate them against cold spring nights before true incubation begins.
Hoodies are the most lovely ducklings, with a glorious ginger toupe of soft down on top of their heads, which they can move up and down according to their activity. By September time however, they look like this lovely lady to the left. At this age you can be forgiven for getting confused over visual sexing techniques because they develop distinct black and wide edged feathers compared to their demure brown bodies, but this is undoubtedly a female. Her eye has remained a rich chocolate brown, and she is distnctly smaller in size than many of the lads. At this age, some birds can even develop a sort of un-natural hormonal flush, and can look quite manly for a time before the group ratios are evened out. This is particularly common in Goldeneye and some pochardy types. The male below left however can clearly be identified by his yellowing eye, which in time will become a rich and pur golden yellow. His chest is getting dirty coloured with a mish mash of grey, white and black feather tips, and his beak is a good cm longer in length!
A young male Hoodie close up!
We have had an average season in terms of totals, with a very depressing 2 out of 11 fertile eggs at Slimbridge, but WWT Arundel and WWT Barnes London came to the rescue with some fertile eggs. Compared to other saw bills and diving ducks, the Hoodie is remarkable hardy and robust, proving very open to dry rearing rather than wet rearing, and mixing with lots of other early species such as Puna Teal and Mallardy types. They continue to do well throughout their graduation period, taking to water without a hint of hydrophobia (unlike other more stressy divers such as Eider.) In fact, these gorgeous birds are so easy, that I am guilty of forgetting about them to a small degree. It is at this time of year, when we assess stock and quality, that I look them up and down and think "wow, you truly are a beauty!"
These gorgeous Harlequin ducks are another WWT Arundel delivery, but boy are they a special one!
Our three young Harlequin
Sam and the team have taken the greatest care over their Harlequin pair, and never (I think) have a pair of birds ever been inundated with so many positive staff thoughts! I personally went to collect the eggs back in the summer, and everyone was just buzzing!
As the little fluffballs began to hatch at WWT Slimbridge, their strength and quality was very apparent. 3 out of the 4 eggs delivered proved good, and so a very super duper special group of divers entered the rearing system. Our boss Mark declared that we should treat them as if they were "made of gold" and so the lucky three were cleaned and changed almost constantly, treated to new mats, and even a new duckery! We gladly chrsitened our newly renovated Little Duckery (kindly updated by funds provided by the Friend of Slimbridge,) with a clutch of glorious Harlequins!
They proved very happy to survive (any breeder can appreciate that it sometimes feels as if every bird is on a mission to hurt itself) and soon graduated outside. Before I knew it, they were feathered! Before I knew it again, they were delivered back to Arundel :( Every report reads very positively about their progress. They will probably prove, despite all other important species and programmes, to be the most special birds to come through the system this year. Congratulations to Arundel, and thanks for the opportunity!
And so, with a shot of two fat juvenile Eiders begging for more in the style of Oliver Twist (they are never EVER satisfied no matter how full the food bowl...) I will endeavour to update you all again soon.
Young common Eider were hoping for more... but of what?
