Heart Warming Adoption

Witnessed a tragedy, and heart warming event on the river today. A mother duck with 7 ducklings was attacked by half a dozen Drakes and fatally injured. 

Was unable to get to her as the tide was high and she sadly died a little later. Her ducklings were in the middle of the river and were attacked by some Herring gulls, one was taken as the others dived to escape, they made it to the riverside wall. 

Miraculously, the only other mother duck in the area with 2 larger ducklings of her own turned up, and the 6 orphaned ducklings paddled out to meet her. 

This mothers 2 ducklings are about 10 days old and I doubted she would have anything to do with a newly hatched brood. I have seen broody ducks take on other ducklings before... but usual because they are only a couple of days between the broods. 

                     Incredibly she let them tag along, and led them to the injured Mum who could not respond, it was heartbreaking. The ducklings then moved away with their new adopted parents, the drake was close by and stayed with the adoptive Mum. 

This evening all the ducklings were kept warm under their new mum, a heart-warming end to a tragic day!  

Growing Cygnets

Lack of warmth and sunshine in this part of the world has hampered the growth of river weed.

 This is a normal part of the Swans diet which is primarily vegetation. 

The Trust supplements their food with chopped lettuce, grass, Wheat,  which has now jumped 20% in price, due to the Ukraine war.

 To ensure adequate nutrition, Dried mealworm and poultry pellets, with Wholemeal is also given.

 Our Swan family makes a bee line for the food source as the pics and short video below shows.

Ebony Reunited

Pleasant surprise today when I identified the Drake escorting the 2 white ducks on the riverside.

                  It was Ebony, who I returned to the river  some weeks ago, when  the 4 white ducks were only a few weeks old. 

Obviously they knew and recognised each other from their time in the garden together. 

This is good news, as they need some heavy duty protection around the swans island drakes. 

Integration

Four days after release, 2 of the Yellow ducklings have made their way into the main river. 

The whereabouts of the other 2 are unknown at this time. 

Having watched their progress as they ventured along the river, they have integrated very well and tagged along with a couple of resident drakes. 

They met the Swans for the first time this morning, and sensibly kept their distance as Sue was wary.  

Successful Release - Duck Diversity

The 4 Yellow ducklings rescued two months ago, were successfully released back to the wild. 

The Trust has given them a chance they would otherwise not have had. There are 2 males and females, they will have to learn quickly how to survive without a mother to guide them, we can only hope for the best. 

They have the ability to fly, but will take a while to adjust to the wild. I have another 18 in care, being nurtured until ready for release. 

All of them are carrying the white duck genes, if some survive this should ensure diversity among the river duck population for years to come. Short video below.

Cygnets Videos

Some more video clips of the cygnets below. 

Nest cygnets Close - up Video

Today I had the chance and privilege for another close up view of the nest. This morning I noticed what appeared to be a dead cygnet lying at the edge of the nest. I had to wait until the tide went back to investigate, sadly it was a dead cygnet. The video below shows Sue returning to the nest and the cygnets following.. the dead cygnet can be seen on the right hand side of the film. 

Close inspection of the cygnet, which I removed as it would attract predators- revealed it's right foot was enveloped in the eggshell membrane. it would have been unable to use this leg and was probably crushed by the parents every time they sat in the nest. There was also another un hatched egg in the nest. However, the 6 surviving cygnets are robust and healthy as the video shows.

First Trip With Sue

 

Sue decided to leave the nest with her 6 cygnets, leaving Slim to watch the nest. 

This was her first trip with all the cygnets to date. Slim had already taken them for a dip earlier.

Short video below of the grand entrance to the Moat !

Simply Superb Six .. So Far !

 Sue Started hatching her cygnets yesterday, and I can reveal that this evening there were 6 in the nest. 

However , she is still incubating at least one more egg that I could see. 

Weather conditions have not been pleasant with a strong blustery wind limiting her exposing the cygnets to the big wide world. 

My close relationship with Slim and Sue allowed me the privilege of an exclusive peep at their babies. 

Although I  had to wait an hour in the nuisance wind for a short video of the superb 6 below. Enjoy ! 

    

Ducklings Progress

 Saffron's brood has certainly livened up the garden with periodic skirmishes. All of them are a joy to observe , but sometimes all hell breaks loose when the ducklings attempt to get up close to new arrivals. 

                       I had hoped to be able to raise and  release Disco's and Saffron's brood together, but this looks unlikely at this point. 

The 4 eldest yellow/white ducklings will be released next week, all being well. 

Short video below showing how easily fights can develop between protective mothers!

Saffron First Brood

This morning Saffron hatched 8 ducklings... 3 of them little yellow beauties!

                    I could not be more pleased, having rescued Saffron from the Crows last August, this was always my hope. 

She is a beautiful duck, and her joy can be seen with her brood around her. 

This means we now have 23 ducklings carrying the Yellow/White gene, to be released back to the river later. 

Hopefully some will survive and pass on the genes for many years to come. Short video below shows Saffron's affectionate little nudges to her babies. 

Ducks Integration

With the limited garden space that I have, it's quite a task trying to integrate the different ducklings safely.

 Disco has 10 and is very protective, she has no problem attacking the 6 week old yellow ducklings if they venture too close to her wee ones. 

On top of that, Saffron comes off her nest 3 or 4 times a day and can cause mayhem in the 5 or 10 minutes she is off the nest. I also have to watch the Herring gulls on the roof eyeing up the ducklings for a quick meal ! 

Getting them used to each other at a distance has been the key. 

The use of the aviary and folding coop allowing all of them use of the pool  in turn, then gradually letting them integrate, has worked out well. 

The final test will come next week when Saffron is due to hatch her clutch... no doubt some mayhem again ! Short video below, showing Disco keeping order.