Happy Days

The Incubator ducklings are enjoying the first real summer day this year. They spend a lot of time foraging around the garden and have frequent naps, usually together.

The white one that loves the cosy spot among the siblings, really hit the spot today by making a nest from it's brothers and sisters ! At just over 3 weeks old they are coming on nicely. Logic dictates that dark objects absorb heat and white ones reflect it...this duckling seems to know this !

Meanwhile the Riverpark lot are also thriving and looking very healthy in their new aviary home.

Mission Accomplished

As viewers might recall, The River Nairn Swans and Waterfowl Trust was awarded £800 from the Nurturing Nairnshire event organised by Highland Region,  I put forward a plan to spend around £500 on various Trees , bushes and shrubs for lower riverside enhancement. The remaining £300 was to be spent on the bird rescue and rehab service at Douglas street. 

                         I can report that around 140 items have been planted and I am hopeful that over the years to come this will have a positive effect and add extra colour and fragrance to the riverside, as well as providing food for the birds. The species planted were Bird cherry, Rowan, Hawthorn, honeysuckle, broom, Scotch rose, and Gooseberry.
As for the bird rescue and rehab service, I am currently caring for 42 ducklings and 3 mother ducks which is full capacity until some of these are safely released to the river. 

The cost of this care is considerable, and involves provision of feed, bedding and heat. Previous posts include the building of a new Aviary and coop - now occupied by a mother duck and 13 ducklings.

This cost £480 and was met by the trust, ( I should have applied for a bigger share of the nurturing Nairnshire funding ! ) All in all the money was well spent, and I think if only everyone utilised money as well as the trust - the world would be a better place. Mission Accomplished ....for now !

Looking For a Cumfy Spot !

Having to spend so much time being Mum and watching out for predators while the ducklings forage in the garden. 

 It is amusing to watch the antics, behaviour and interaction between them.

 One of the white ducklings was feeling the chill and wanted to get a cosy spot in the midst of the brood.

 It clambered, pushed and walked over the top of the others - in the end, the whole brood moved out of the shade to a sunny spot and calm was restored. 

Big Day For Incubator Ducklings

Trying to fit 4 into 3 always presents difficulties, so it has been for me with 4 broods and only 3 large pens.
The Incubator ducklings were recently moved into the outhouse pen, but this left the mother duck with 5 ducklings confined to a coop in the same outhouse ! 

This Mother and 5 ducklings have been cooped up for 2 weeks and had to be given proper space to bathe and move around. 

The only solution was to move the incubator ducklings outdoors during the day, and allow the mother with 5, the run of the outhouse during the daylight hours before putting the incubator ducklings back in for the night.

 Today I bit the bullet and got the rota system going, time consuming since they had to be watched over to avoid being taken by predators. I also got my repaired camera back, and have taken today's shots with it. I was pleased to see the mother from the coop having a right good bath in a tub that was big enough, she fair enjoyed it. Short movie clip showing the incubator ducklings foraging under a bush below.

The Essence Of Aww

Sometimes certain sights convey an instant aww reaction. 

The rescued brood from Riverpark under a heat lamp, has that chocolate box warmth, and essence of aww to match.

                                        I took these shots shortly before moving them into the new aviary where Mum is going to have to provide the heat from now on. They are nearly a week old and the weather is on the up, so hopefully they will be OK.

Record April Rescues

This month has seen a new record for bird rescues by the Trust. 

Four broods totalling 44 ducklings and 3 mother ducks. Two of the ducklings died through freak accidents, leaving 42 alive and well.

Last year we had 4 duckling broods for the whole season, we have already passed that amount on the last day of April.
Until I get some of these released safely to the river, I will not be able to take any more. The Crows and Gulls have taken two broods of 9 and 10 that I'm aware of, so we are one step ahead of them so far this year. The appalling cold weather would have killed off any chance of these broods surviving, at least now they have a chance.

Aviary Completed

The Riverpark ducklings will soon have a new home, after the completion of the aviary and installation of a coop. 

This has been a frenetic week for me with 42 ducklings and 3 mother ducks to attend to, as well as putting together the new coop and coating same with outdoor weather proofing. The ducklings need to have constant ready access to lots of food and water, and bedding has to be changed as well as water, it all takes up time and it's just as well I consider it a labour of love ! 

The weather is still very cold at nights, and I may wait until we get an improvement in temperatures before shifting the mother and 13 ducklings away from the heat lamp into the new coop which has no heating. Short video clip showing ducklings just after a dip below.

Trust Members Duckling Rescue

Trust members Ian and Shirley Hay of Riverpark, pulled off a great duck brood rescue today. 

This morning they saw a mother duck with 12 ducklings in their garden and creating quite a fuss as she tried to lead them across the road with circling crows and gulls. They kept them safe and contained, doing exactly the right thing by providing a shallow water tray allowing the ducklings to drink.

They spent several hours watching over them and contacted me for the next step in their rescue. After catching the mother and then the ducklings they kindly brought them over where I made room in the outhouse.

They will be transferred to the newly completed aviary and coop within a couple of days.

Meanwhile they have a cosy heat lamp bed, and have survived against the odds, with bad weather and predators waiting to claim them.  Well done Ian and Shirley, and thanks for the Photos !

Handy Man

The new Aviary is almost complete and will have the door fitted tomorrow. Having 29 ducklings and two mother ducks under care at present,it was vital to have this built quickly.  I looked at our local paper for a tradesman who could do the job and called an advert entitled " We are Handy " advertising house and garden work. I have been pleasantly surprised by "Smiler", the man who it seems will tackle almost anything. 

We agreed a price and I said that it had to be completed this week, he has been good natured, and done a good solid job to my specifications on time - not always the case when it comes to getting things done by tradesmen . 

The weather has not exactly been kind either, with rain sleet and snow today.

Arctic Blast !

Horrendous weather conditions persist from the Arctic, feels more like January than end of April ! 

Being mindful of the exposed position of Popeye and Penny's nest, with no protection from the bitter northerly winds I did what I rarely do - except in extreme conditions. With close to freezing temperatures at night and only a few degrees during the day, I know that Penny will not leave the nest at this stage of incubation.

Reluctantly today I hand fed her while on the nest for which she was truly grateful, Popeye is very protective and although I have cared for them for nearly 10 years, he still puts himself in harms way by guarding both Penny and the nest as closely as you could imagine. It is only the trust that has built up over the years that allows me the privilege to do this on rare occasions.

 Similar ducks allow me to get that close during nesting time when food is vital to egg production.

Aviary Takes Shape

In spite of adverse weather conditions, the new Aviary construction got under way today. After my usual trip to the riverside the weather turned really nasty, with icy squalls of hail and sleet showers blasting up the river. The mother duck that had 10 ducklings yesterday is now down to 4 and looks likely to lose them as well.

 Penny is sitting on eggs amid hail and sleet, and you have to admire these birds having to brave unseasonal temperatures in the middle of the hatching season. I was also told of another duck brood seen walking down the maggot road, survival in these conditions are slim to non existent. If I could save more I would.

Ducklings Danger

Yet another duckling hatching season is upon us, and to the enjoyment of many a mother duck with 10 ducklings arrived at the Island Moat today. Being a sunny weekend and many holiday makers on the go, it is timely to remind everyone of the deadly dangers to these tiny new ducklings. Throwing bread to them is a sure fire way of getting them taken by Crows and Seagulls, PLEASE DON'T DO IT ! They are too small to eat bread and it has no nutritional value to them.

 Their primary food source are flies and algae growing on the wet stones. Crushed dried mealworm has high protein content, and even crushed porridge oats can be put to them, as long as it's close to the river walls where they can feed in safety. There are still some Fishertown residents who throw bread to the gulls, they should be politely told not to do it, ESPECIALLY at this time of year.

Sign of Summer ?

It certainly doesn't feel like it, but like it or not the Swallows and Martins are on the river. I saw the Martins last week, but the Swallows only arrived to my knowledge in the past few days. 

This is the usual time for them but that Arctic air is chilling ! 

Trying to get a shot of Swallows in flight is pretty difficult,  homing in on one then trying to keep pace while pressing the shutter is really the only hope.

Arctic Chill

Once again we get the cold Arctic breeze blowing in from the North.

The Mother ducks are doing their best to make sure their offspring survive, even when they are growing fast. 

The Nurturing Nairnshire funding has come just at the right time, since I will have to buy another coop and build another aviary to accommodate the incubator ducklings in another week or so.

Another Trust Rescue

Another Dramatic Trust rescue this evening when a mother duck and 6 ducklings got into problems with the current. I spotted her earlier in the evening beside the bridge supports, however when she tried to take the newly hatched ducklings up river they kept getting swept back by the current. It was obvious they were getting exhausted and one of them got swept downstream, later rejoined by the brood. It was time to act and with the help of young Lucy Lansdell I waded across the river and managed to catch the mother duck first. Lucy encouraged the ducklings to stay near the side so as not to be swept away down stream, this gave me time to bag the mother and then catch all 6 ducklings. It was exhausting for me, but a successful rescue mission. This means I now have 3 broods totalling 30 ducklings under care.The crows and gulls at Merryton bridge have so far been thwarted this season.