Incubation and Rearing Room update

The Incubation and Rearing Room is a busy place this month!

You must drop by for a look in the Rearing Room windows - see Who's Who in the "Arnie" Tanks. See the notes on the white board outside for constant updates. Staff are very busy overseeing the new youngsters in the Rearing Room, in our off-show aviary at the back of the Meadow Maze, and in the small off-show aviary at Coastal Creek. In addition each day, the Keepers feed, clean, and care for 30 types of ducks, geese, swans and waders!

In the Incubators

We put eggs from some of the birds in our collection in our incubators. This is assessed by our Keepers on a case-by-case basis. The types and numbers can change daily so drop by for a peek.

The Rearing Room

After hatching we move goslings and ducklings into the special 'Arnie' tanks in the rearing rooms. These flexible tanks can be set up in a dry mode for grazing goslings who get a pallet of grass to nibble on as they would outdoors. The tanks can also be set up in wet mode for dabbling and diving ducks to include a small pond where they can bob about! Heat lamps can be hung above as well to keep the ducklings warm.

June’s Incubation and Rearing Room hatching:

Week of June 2:

• three Common goldeneye ducklings
• six bufflehead ducklings
• three hooded merganser ducklings

June’s ducklings being parent-reared:

Week of June 2:

• five North American wood duckling

May’s Incubation and Rearing Room hatching:

• May 10 and 11 – seven common goldeneye ducklings
• May 10 & 12 – five swan goose goslings
• May 18:- two red shoveler ducklings
• May 21 – three chiloe wigeon ducklings
• 22 May – three bufflehead ducklings

May’s ducklings being parent-reared:

• May 1 – two nene goslings
• May 1- two swan geese goslings
• May 6 – nine scaly-sided mergansers ducklings

Graduates!

From March:

• Our older trio of nene goslings, Junior, Jade and Juno have graduated to the Reed swamp exhibit and can be seen there with the other nene (Hawaiian) geese.

From May:

• The seven common goldeneye ducklings who hatched May 10&11 have have now moved to the outdoor off-show aviary.
• The five swan geese goslings who hatched on May 10& 12 have have now moved to the outdoor off-show aviary.

Health Checks

The Team rounded up all our scaly -sided merganser last week for health checks. In the wild this beautiful sea duck with its distinctive head crest of wispy feathers is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the ICUN Red List. Scaly sided mergansers are originally from China and Russia where populations have been declining fast because of illegal hunting, birds drowning in fishing nets and habitat loss.

The first scaly-sided merganser ducklings ever hatched at any Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust hatched at Arundel in mid-May 2019. Scaly-sided mergansers require specialist care and exhibit spaces making them difficult to breed in captivity. In the wild the scaly sided mergansers nest in tree hollows near pristine, fast-flowing rivers. This habitat is replicated at Arundel Wetland Centre in the Waterfall Pen where some of the ‘scalies’ live - its clear water filtered through the chalk cliffs of the South Downs.

If you've been inspired to come and see our new arrivals at the Incubation and Rearing Rooms....

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