British Birds: Shelduck and Shelduck Chicks

Saturday, 30 August 2014

Shelduck and Shelduck Chicks

Meet the Shelduck and chicks

photography copyright annmackiemiller 2014

Shelducks are probably one of the most recognisable birds in the UK. They are certainly colourful enough! In flight they have wonderful black lined wings with white fills, a distinctive orange collar, white neck, black head and red bill with a red knob. The female may have a slightly lighter face and bill and lacks the bill knob. The tail is mainly white lined with black and orange.

Look for them in estuaries, marsh land, mud flats and nesting in coastal grasslands. Some folk think they are a cross between a duck and a goose - maybe they were at one time in the very distant past but they are firmly in the duck family now.

Adult Shelduck asleep

Shelduck in flight by annmackiemiller

What do Shelduck eat?

Shelduck chicks

You'll see Shelduck sweeping their bills through mud out on the estuary. They are filtering the mud for snails and other crustaceans and they are not averse to the odd insect or two. You'll even see them stirring up stones with their feet to get at anything that is underneath.

This shelduck chick has already learned to stir up stones on the pond floor to get to anything underneath.

Shelduck Breeding

These ducks tend to be monogamous and the female only makes the nest. This can be down a handy rabbit hole or among the grass in the dunes. They line the nest with down plucked from their belly. They lay 8-15 eggs and the female only sits on them though the male is usually nearby. The eggs will hatch in around a month. The chicks of many broods may form large nurseries. They are independent around 2 months old.