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Species update by warden Jack Woodley

Wednesday, 14th April 2010

Our pair of black-necked swans in the PCC have snubbed our best efforts at building them a cosy nest, proving themselves more than capable of doing the job and choosing a site among the reeds on the water itself. Sadly her first two eggs have been predated and the rest of the clutch will be replaced by dummies and taken in to protect them from the marauding crows until she is sitting tight for incubation.

Our first clutch of hooded merganser eggs have been laid and with three other pairs starting to distance themselves from the main group there's a good chance of a few clutches this year.

In the wader pen various birds are pairing up and starting to build nests, including a pair of wild shelduck! This stamp of approval from a wild bird selecting the artificial pen over more natural alternatives confirms it as a first rate breeding site for our birds.

After much campaigning on their part our breeding flock of red-breasted geese have been allowed to return to the tundra pen, their preferred breeding site, giving the grass along the ditch a break from the barrage of beaks that's been grazing it over the last few months.

All the crane pens are now full with our black and grey crowned pairs parading their extraordinary plumage and giving the public full view of six of our seven species. Only the white napes remain off-show while the turf in their pen recovers from their mischief with the help of the recent good weather.

Our latest arrival to the collection comes in the form of a female red-breasted merganser soon to be released onto the stream pen. Although only a year old and therefore as yet too young to breed, this addition doubles future breeding possibilities of this priority species with the hopeful establishment of two pairs.

The male ruff are back to their resplendent best in the wader aviary and avocets are starting to display signalling the imminent appearance of well concealed nests on the ground and requiring vigilance from anyone entering the aviary over the next few months.

Our best breeding pair of white stalks has overtaken our young wader pen pair, building their nest in quick time and laying their eggs first, making the trip from the food bins to the viewing lake something of a gauntlet! After taking a while to construct their nest and seemingly a little confused as to what to do next, the wader pen pair have finally figured it out.

All duck boxes around the site have now been repaired and material added to provide plenty of nesting options for our birds. All boxes will be numbered to allow us to keep a record of the usage for future reference.

The appearance of lots of mallard clutches as well as the necessity of grass mowing signals the start of the growing and breeding season and a hectic few months for birds and staff alike!