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Having acquired a single Duck egg dropped on a Trust members Lawn last month. It was put into my incubator to see if it was viable or not.
Normal duck incubation time is about 28 days, so I was gobsmacked when I discovered a ducks bill protruding through the shell at 24 days!
This is the earliest I have ever known for a duck egg hatching. It transpired that the little bill through the shell was stuck for over 18 hours, so I had no choice but to help it out or end up with an - in shell fatality.
Using Tweezers I carefully removed some shell at either side of the trapped bill leaving the membrane intact. Some hours later removed some more and allowed the duckling to finish the job.
It now joins some of the other rescued ducklings. Sequence of shots tells the story and short vid clip below.
Looks like the word is out that the Swans island is up for grabs. Another Male swan has arrived in the river.
This morning one of the Trust members told me he saw 2 in the river and another 2 fly in and land on the water. There was then a fight and 2 driven out, fortunately it was not Penny.
When I arrived two of them were at the island and headed up when they saw me. Penny first and then the big male, he was very tame fearless, and totally the opposite of the one 2 days ago.
He is either one of Penny's offspring from years ago, or has come from another place where he was hand fed, maybe Brodie, Forres, or Findhorn.
She later stood on the island and had a nap letting him get on with patrolling the river as though he were Popeye.
They did eat grain together, and he did a bit of posturing which Penny ignored. The plot thickens !!
