skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Surviving on the river is no easy feat for a duckling, predators like Crows, Gulls, Heron, Otters, Cats and dogs, all aiming to make a meal out of them.
Having a good Mother is essential to watch for dangers and see off any potential threats.
She will do her best to conceal them and hide them in plain sight as required.
About 3 weeks ago this mother turned up with 9 and has since lost 4 of them, the last was about a week ago.
They are so slow to grow to a safe size, but I'm hoping these ones will make it, as they are now approaching the safety size. The Mother has done a fantastic job, and passing on her skills to the offspring.
After 3 days hatching, I awaited the final duckling to hatch from the incredible 14 egg survival saga. With bated breath it finally broke free, and I was overjoyed to see yet again another golden duckling !
One of my previous posts was entitled the miracle of eggs, only days after that, the trust rescued 14 eggs on the 6th of April.
Today all 14 eggs have hatched and the ducklings are feeding happily by themselves.
Considering these eggs were under icy water for several hours with less than week to hatch, is truly a miracle of survival. Short video below showing feeding time.
Today sees the first rain for many weeks and many will be desperate for more. The past month has been a record breaker, and the river is at a record low level. Duckling numbers have improved of late with another 6 turning up recently. This takes the total surviving to date to 38 with 65 fatalities. The gulls and crows have all but finished feeding their young, and the hot weather also helps the ducklings survival too.
We may get a few more late arrivals, so this could turn out to be one of the best years for ducklings, in spite of the bad start.
Meanwhile, Summertime and the livin is easy for the Cygnets enjoying a bath! (Short video below)
