Celebrations as 'punk duck' numbers rocket
Conservationists in Gloucestershire are celebrating record numbers of a duck with a very unusual ‘hairstyle’.
The Tufted duck gets its name from the way its feathers grow with a punk-rock style tuft of them sweeping down the back of its head.
A whopping 705 of these popular ducks were counted on the Reserve at Slimbridge Wetland Centre this week in the latest Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS).
There has been an upwards trend of numbers of the duck on the reserve over the last 10 years.
Experts at the centre think the high figure this year could be due to the birds flocking to the open waters of Slimbridge during the recent cold snap, which left many areas of water frozen.
There is also a general trend for a higher number of this species wintering in Britain as global warming allows them to spend their winters further north.
Senior reserve warden Martin McGill, said: “It is a very popular duck because of the way it looks.
“It is the highest number we have ever recorded of this species on this site.
“It is great news for our team because it indicates that our Reserve is in good shape so birds are choosing to spend their winters here.
“We have done huge amounts of work on our habitats to make them attractive to birds like the tufted duck.”
In total 13,733 water birds were counted on the Reserve in the survey which takes place every month. At the end of last year over 20,000 waterbirds were recorded at the count.
The counts take many hours with wardens counting the birds in groups of 10.
The research is used to build up a picture of which species are thriving in each area and which are in decline.
Each year the Tufted duck migrates from its breeding grounds in Iceland and Northern Europe,
It is smaller than the mallard and dives catch its food. Visitors to Slimbridge can see them at the daily midday feed on Swan Lake immediately outside the visitor centre.
