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
Argentine Ruddy ducks hatch and thrive.
Looking absolutely gorgeous, these Argentine ruddy ducks (3) have been a welcome early addition to the Duckery numbers this season. Hatching, or almost exploding from their eggs in a flurry of eggshell, these stonking little stifftails are the sma
29 April 2013
Nene families struggle this Spring.
Could mum (standing) look any more knackered? The poor thing sat on her nest for 28 days of hardship this February/March, one of the coldest extended Springs we have seen at WWT Slimbridge for many a year... Thankfully her hubby BBZ can now take the r
23 April 2013
Avicultural excitment over Pygmy geese.
The gorgeous new pair of African pygmy geese on exhibit in the Tropical house at WWT Slimbridge have finally got the Avicultural staff excited! The male Pygmy goose in the tropical house. The pygmy goose is regarded a
20 March 2013
South African black duck nesting observations.
The South African black ducks have been nesting for nearly three weeks now. Although considered of Least concern in the wild, these birds are rare in captivity and although they do not command a high price they prove quite hard to get hold of once lost.
18 March 2013
The black swans do what they best; breed!
She's such a proud mum, and so she should be! This black swan pair are a virtual power house of breeding ability. Still with their babes from 2012 in the pen, they have hatched out their cygnets for 2013 on the 5th March. Head on down to the Australian p
14 March 2013
Breeding behaviour.
Lots of my breeding pairss are getting in the mood... Others? Well they're just showing off! A male white-headed duck struts his stuff. Including... the glorious white-headed duck. Nothing heralds the sound of spring
8 March 2013
Nene nest special.
The Nenes are incubating! I knew we had lots of heavy females, but they really waited right up until the last minute before laying their eggs. The sunny weekend of the 9th of February stimulated the mass lay, and it felt that by the 16th, everyone was inc
27 February 2013
I just got to thinking...
BAP my hyper angry girl! I have read that incubation temperature regulation has often been tentatively linked to determining sex in some waterfowl species. I cannot deny that in 2012 we hatched a clutch of 8 female
22 February 2013
Sheldgeese.
The Ashy-head marching I've a penchant for Sheldgeese all year round, not just for their characters (they can be a touch vacuous at times) but for their behaviours. These glorious southern hemisphere beauties have a
19 February 2013
Snow + ice = eggs?
It's that time of year again that confuses us all, the breeding season! For some... Despite our potentially freezing UK conditions, several of our captive species that have never managed to kick their southern hemisphere body clock, get down to breeding.
27 January 2013
Nene releases at Slimbridge.
Nenes in the corral I love Nene. Their Hawaiian time keeping means that their January breeding season keeps me entertained in a period of the year dominated by cloudy mornings and drizzle. As ever then, and just in ti
23 January 2013
The Andean flock returns home!
Mark Roberts in the catching corral. We recently moved the Andean flamingos back to
22 January 2013
Magpie goose success!
In spring 2012, it was noticed during a routine census that WWT Slimbridge only had 3 Magpie goose males in the grounds, one of which was pushing his mid twenties. Magpie geese have a wonderfully inovative and remarkable social system based on self protec
21 November 2012
Baby-faced bird moves.
Whilst all my babes are growing up, some grow faster than others. Some species grow directly into the feather morph for their first season, representing their actual adult plumage (with a faded bit or a patch here and there.) Others develop feathers that
17 November 2012
Seasonal round ups and close ups.
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 se
31 October 2012