The Tom Daley of the duck world hits a record high at WWT Welney
Staff at WWT Welney have recorded the largest ever number of tufted ducks on the Ouse Washes, with numbers hitting an all time high of 3,477.
Affectionately known as ‘tufties’, due to the ‘ponytail’ of feathers on the head, tufted ducks have bold black and white plumage and brilliant yellow eyes.
They dive deep under the water’s surface to feed. Despite the recent deep water from flooding, they have not been fazed.
Visitors to Welney can see them at the daily swans feed, where they join some of the thousands of swans and other ducks that spend the winter at Welney. In between the swan feeds the birds are out on the wild reserve feeding on larvae and aquatic insects.
Steve Wiltshire, Warden at WWT Welney says:
‘Although the tufties aren’t doing anything as extravagant as Tom Daley’s two and a half back-somersault with two and a half twists, they’ve certainly made a splash at Welney!
‘We pick up peak counts of birds such as the tufted ducks, through monitoring them regularly throughout the winter, which is hugely important for conservation because it helps us track the long term trends of populations.
‘February and March are usually when we see the highest wildfowl counts, as birds start to move back through the UK from further south. It is also the time when males are looking their best in their breeding plumage and starting to display to the females.’
There are not many weeks left to see these diving demons. Water levels on the Ouse Washes are now dropping as it transforms from a haven for wintering wildfowl to prime breeding habitat for wading birds over the summer.
Swan feeds run daily until Sunday 10 March at 12noon and 3.30pm. Evening floodlit feeds run Thursdays to Sundays until Sunday 24 February, these are better for large numbers of swans.
