Are you ready for colder weather?
Ice and snow present challenges to birds, particularly as many waterfowl are outside all year. Frostbite is a real danger to webbed feet, especially where there is no natural cover or ponds are shallow. Most commonly kept species can cope with the cold provided they always have open water and somewhere they can get off […]
Long-tailed Duck
British Waterfowl Association Long-tailed Drake – Zoe Brodie-James Keeping the Long-tailed Duck is a challenge. Clean cool water is a must and they like to be in the company of their own kind. They prefer to nest near others, making a shallow scrape in the ground and lining it with available vegetation and some down. […]
Shiny is not just for Strictly
Most of our domestic breeds of duck are descended from the Mallard Anas platyrhynchos. This breed takes its name from Cayuga Lake (which is itself named after the native Cayuga People). Some assumptions are made that it is partly descended from the American Black Duck, which is the closest wild relative of the Mallard. The […]
What was your Gateway Bird?
Was this your ‘gateway’ bird’? The Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata is our bird of the month for September. Well any month really, for it has introduced many to the diverse and colourful world of wild waterfowl. The native range of the Mandarin is SE Siberia, Korea, E China and Japan. Particularly in the latter, they […]
A popular calling
Just what is it that makes the Call duck so popular? These small, cobby, gobby and bright birds regularly make up the greatest proportion of exhibits at waterfowl shows. Weighing in at a little more than half a kilo, they make up for it in noise. Also known as Decoy Ducks, the first word comes […]
Angel wing
Angel wing is a result of rapid growth and too much protein in early life.
Smoke and Mirrors
The Speculum feathers, Latin for mirror, on a wing are an area of iridescence usually on the secondary Flight feathers. The Brazilian teal has a large area of lustrous green, extending onto the Primary-feathers; unlike Mallard ducks it does not have the clear black & white bordering. The Bronze-winged duck is named after its very […]
Bread or no bread?
Debates rage about whether we should feed bread to waterfowl in public places. In times of hardship, bread is certainly better than starving, however there are better alternatives. Many people gain their first exposure to waterfowl feeding ducks at a local park or river, and from there a love is kindled. Just like us, ducks […]
Reflecting Well
Many of you have commented how nice it would be to have a good reference for more of the waterfowl we keep. We are working on a website upgrade and soon we’ll have just that. We need good images which show the identifying features of the birds. Particularly the species and breeds less commonly kept. […]
Passing of a legend – farewell to Christopher Marler
We are sad to report that Patron and past President (twice), Christopher Marler passed away last week. This comes as a huge shock to his many friends in the waterfowl world, who will wish to express immense sadness that one of the great figures in aviculture has left us. During Christopher’s time with the Association […]
