The Wildfowl Reserve

Click here for a gallery of some of our wildfowl.

On his return from the Wildfowl Trust at Slimbridge, Gerald Askew amazed his wife by telling her "I've ordered twenty pairs of wildfowl - where shall we put them?" A bulldozer was brought in to excavate a pond in one of the poorer fields and immediately uncovered a spring. With its water supply assured, the Duckery was established there. Some of the first birds to arrive were Mandarins and Carolinas, Emperor Geese and a pair of Black-necked Swans.

The term 'wildfowl' is generally applied to Swans, Geese and Ducks. There are altogether 147 species of wildfowl in the world, and around 125 of them can be seen at Bentley. Wildfowl are usually found near water although Geese also need grazing land. The water provides much of the food they need and their long necks help them reach the shellfish and vegetation that are found deep down.

Swans, Geese and Ducks can be further sub-divided according to size, anatomy and behaviour. There are diving ducks such as Pochards, perching ducks such as the Teal and many others. Differences between them such as length of neck, or diving ability, enable them to live together without competing for food.

Their feathers are a protection against the water, which can be very cold in winter. The preen gland just above the tail maintains an oily coating over the outer layer of feathers while underneath lies a warm, soft layer of down. Annual moults keep the feathers in good condition.

Recent additions to the collection include the spectacular flamingos and cranes which, although not strictly wildfowl, are closely affiliated.

Breeding birds in captivity can be difficult, especially with so many different kinds of wildfowl coming from such diverse environments throughout the world. However, under the care of the resident bird keepers, breeding has been achieved at Bentley.

Breeding conditions

Some birds, such as the Black Swans, become aggressive when breeding and need to be isolated in pens. The swan strip is often used for this purpose. Some pens, such as those containing the rare White-winged Wood Ducks, are very overgrown, as these birds need such a habitat in order to breed.

Many captive wildfowl, particularly the ducks, are likely to be bad parents and in spite of the protective fencing the eggs and young can be attacked by weasels, stoats and other predators. When this is a danger the bird keeper may remove some of the eggs and hatch them using broody hens and then rear them in special pens!

One breeding success story is that of the Ne-ne or Hawaiian Geese. These geese were rapidly becoming extinct and in 1947 their number had dropped to 32. Three were brought to England and now there are several captive flocks, including one at Bentley, from which hundreds of birds have been returned to the lush lava flows of Hawaii.

Bringing in new birds

Bentley's aim is to continually improve its collection of birds. Age and predators could deplete the Askews' magnificent collection, but this is counteracted by buying in new birds when old ones die and by breeding. Surplus stock gained from breeding can also be exchanged with other collections.

The Black Swans from Australia are some of the most popular birds. They are quite tame (except for breeding pairs which are kept separately) and most attractive with their black plumage, red beaks and white flight feathers. The Trumpeter Swans really do make a trumpeting noise, raising and lowering their heads to do so and are very entertaining to watch. The Eider Duck and Cereopsis Goose also have distinctive sounds.