The African white-backs meet for the first time...
Just a quick note to show you this wonderful little group...
These busy little bees are the complete result of the two clutches of white-backed ducks we had from our breeding aviaries this year. At a tasty 2:4 ratio, these beauties are some of the most exciting birds I have taken part in breeding this year.
Unlike many species who bully and persecute each other after a rapid introduction, stifftails and white-backs in particular exhibit a wonderful caring nature towards each other. After a 20 minute "who are you?" period, the three older birds surrounded the babes into a cresche within a protective bower, and began to preen around them. As you can see, the younger ones joined in! After a 10 minute wriggle, they all settled down in a slightly downy pile for an afternoon snooze...
It is a lovely thing to observe as the babes learn to dive, preen, and feed from the adult sized bowls located outside. They learnt to locate their preening gland and begin to waterproof their baby feathers. All of the stress surrounding their first forray on to the water was eradicated by their doting first clutch baby-sitting siblings.
For the first time in ages a group of ducklings have bucked the trend and been friendly towards each other, so believe me when I say that I am exceptionally grateful!
