Shelduck
Tadorna tadorna
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Distribution Britain 959 (19.7%) Ireland 183 (-14.9%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 10,600 Ireland 1,100 European status: 41,000 (28% in Britain and Ireland =1) British population trend: increasing, but down 35% on BBS How likely are you to record it? 260 squares (5.8%) Ranked 80=[71=] |
This is a striking bird, not quite a duck and not quite a goose, that looks black and white at a distance. At the turn of the century they were beginning to recover. They had earlier been eradicated from some areas, for example Breckland, because they competed for their burrows with valuable rabbit stocks! In other parts of South-east England they had been shot for sport. Now these birds are increasing and nest in most coastal areas with substantial populations away from the sea. Many people expect these to be only a mile or two inland but many birds now nest well inland especially in East Anglia, up the Trent and other parts of the Midlands, in the New Forest and in lowland Scotland. There is no evidence of big population change in Ireland where there may have been some contraction of range and birds do not often breed inland. In Britain the major increase has been in England and Wales (over 1,000 pairs) where more and more birds are colonising inland sites. The Scottish population has been estimated at about 1,500 pairs. These birds have major moulting areas where they congregate in the autumn and a system of creches so that a few 'aunties' are left in charge of large numbers of ducklings, often of different sizes. Prospects look good but feral mink are likely to be a problem for the nesting birds.
The following Bird On! pictures are available:
Shelduck (Watercolour by Robert Gillmor)
The following Bird On! sketch is available:
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead