Weekend Webbies — Just One Thing
A little nugget to consider for the weekend, we hope you’ll tune in every Friday for regular tips: If you have a moment, get spare boots to keep exclusively for your bird enclosure. And the bird — Andean Geese, Chloephaga melanoptera. Photographed by Dr Daniel J Field at Tucumán, Argentina. This large monochromatic sheldgoose inhabits […]
Stop the spread — free webinars
Can you spare an hour over the next few days? We feel it is certainly worth listening to advice about protecting our birds. Bird flu is not just a problem for commercial flocks. APHA are running a series of webinars aimed specifically at smallholders/hobby keepers/pet keepers. Specific meetings are available for commercial producers and veterinarians […]
Common Pochard
Though familiar, we mostly tend to see wild Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) in winter. Populations from the breeding grounds in the steppes seek refuge in our slightly less harsh climate. Across Britain as a whole, the wintering population is about 70% males and 30% females, a more imbalanced sex ratio than any other wintering duck, […]
Winter Waterfowl is on its way to members
On the day we went to print, we heard that two members with significant collections have been hit and their birds will have been destroyed by the time you read this. The current outbreak is now the largest ever UK outbreak of avian influenza with 36 confirmed cases (prior to this the largest number of […]
Red Sixty-seven becomes Seventy
9 species of waterfowl are now on the UK Red List. Bewick’s Swan, Goldeneye and Smew have joined the likes of White-fronted Goose, our 2 native scoters and Scaup as top conservation priorities. 16 waterfowl species have been placed on the new Amber List. The Red-breasted Merganser was moved from Green to Amber on account […]
Bird brains and beady eyes
Birds use their large, prominent eyes to search for food and detect predators. They can see objects in fine detail two-and-a-half to three times farther away than people can, and their spectral sensitivity, which spans from near-ultraviolet (UV) to red, is far beyond that of humans. With eyes set on the sides of their head, most waterfowl […]
Are you a webbie?
What would you call a bunch of enthusiasts who love ducks, geese and swans? We are paddling into the competition season with a search for a brilliant word. Comment on our Facebook page with your suggestion, like and share our post to friends and family and you could win a copy of the great new […]
The right thing to do
As a hgv driver, Rupert Stephenson’s day job takes him to many places, one of those last week was Stratford upon Avon. ‘I was emptying bins along the river area, only 100 yards from the swans, who come to see if there’s any food on offer. In light of the avian flu situation, and the […]
Bid for heavy ducks – original artwork
The Blue Swedish, Cayuga, Pekin and Rouen Clair are four heavy ducks depicted on paintings by Carl Donner, Wildlife Artist. These original watercolours were commissioned for the Millennium edition of British Waterfowl Standards. Each is beautifully framed and includes provenance of the original sale of work. The paintings will be auctioned on Sunday at the […]
Strict biosecurity is now mandatory
Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) Press Notice – Bird flu – Latest situation: Avian influenza prevention zone declared across Great Britain Following a number of detections of avian influenza in wild birds across Great Britain, the Chief Veterinary Officers from England, Scotland and Wales have declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across the whole […]
