Phoebe Vaughan is duckery warden at Slimbridge Wetland Centre. Follow her blog throughout the seasons in order to discover the highs and lows of working as an Aviculture Warden at WWT Slimbridge. Follow Phoebe's diary and keep up to date with all the feathery goings-on at the duckery.
Duck diary
A Maccoa makes its way into the world...
As it is Downy Duckling week @wwtslimbridge wetland centre I thought I would feature for you some of the remarkable hatching feats that some of our wonderful species achieve in their race for life. This big egg is exhibiting a big crack! The Maccoa duck i
28 May 2015
Downy Duckling Days are here!
Wow I just cannot believe that it's May! Following a month away in April (apologies all) the month really has run away with me. Thankfully however the best is still to come; in fact it's happening right now... Every May bank holiday half term we open our
22 May 2015
A Nene nest update.
Just in time for Easter, here's a few special images to wet your appetite for spring! "Nothing to see here!" BIC and BCU have come together to create one of the cutest couples of 2015. BIC's facial expressions of ind
4 April 2015
What is Aviculture?
A few weeks ago whilst out on the afternoon duck feed I experienced one of those pleasurable epiphanies whereby your life, the universe and everything feels worthwhile. The reason for that feeling was simple; I felt like I was doing a good job. Now don't
25 March 2015
Eggs ahoy.
The Hawaiian goose or Nene fans amongst you will have noticed a remarked drop in the amount of willing hand-feeders in recent weeks. Do not fear however, for following a winter fattening up on the best wheat our dedicated visitors can offer, it is time fo
9 March 2015
The plight of the pudding.
Can you see the stiff tail on the sitfftail? The White-headed duck, Maccoa duck, Argentine ruddy duck, Musk duck and North American ruddy duck are all collectively known as the "stifftails" or Oxyurinae sub-family.
12 February 2015
The persistence of the Hawaiian goose.
And so much like every January since what feels like the beginning of time (or at least my 9 years of involvement!) the Nene or Hawaiian geese are preparing to breed once more. As with every Nene pair (and in some ways every monogomous couple on the
4 February 2015
Frosty mornings.
There's the persistent myth that traditionally permeates around at this time of year that the cold and rain is "nice weather for ducks." For many of the species at WWT however, this is most false! Our UK native species and most northern or extreme souther
26 January 2015
All grown up!
Remember our little game back in August? Look who grew up! The male ring-necked duck is just perfection, and this handsome chap is now in his full iridescent splendour. They're out and about for all of our visitors to adore and photograph in the North Ame
24 January 2015
Happy New Year!
Just to wish the readership of the Duck Diary a very Happy New Year! Thanks for reading! Our male black crowned crane when he was a juvenile.
8 January 2015
Christmas freckles!
Despite all evidence to the contrary, our Freckled duck groups have decided that it is now Spring. As with many of our southern hemisphere gems, these Australian beauties have decided to breed the whole year through! We have had a Freckled duck nest for e
18 December 2014
White-winged duck breeding preparations.
For me, when it comes to white-winged wood duck, it is never too early to prepare for the breeding season... Having bred from our historic Slimbridge stock for 4 whole seasons now, it is time to change our breeding pairs. We have made sure to receive e
11 December 2014
Can you guess the sex yet?
There is currently a seasonal game at the Top Hut between staff and volunteers; who can guess the sex ratio of our juvenile groups most accurately? Some are proving easy, others not so... Here are a selection of easier ones to get the ball rolling... Wha
28 August 2014
Fluffies!
It occurred to me the other day whilst worming some fluffy goslings, that there is a rather serious lack of the 'cute and fluffy' in my blogs of late... As a remedy, I hope that you enjoy the list of fluffy-bottomed beauties below; a few highlights of m
21 August 2014
From juvenile, to eclipse, to beautiful.
At this time of the year our collection birds can be forgiven for becoming a touch vain... but the good news for visitors is that our collection birds will soon be back to their beautiful best! A stunning little red-breast
5 August 2014