Two Falkland Island Flying Steamer Ducks, a male and female, have been released at Martin Mere Wetland Centre on Tuesday 18 March. The ducks are exhibited in the South American area of the grounds
The Steamers enclosure is unlike any other exhibit you will see at the Centre as it is predominantly made up of stone. The grounds wardens have created a mini Falkland Island coastal area to ensure the birds are in a habitat that mimics how they would be living in the wild on rocky marine shores. The enclosure also contains two deep ponds as the ducks would usually dive to forage for food, and to assist them nesting we have also included underground tunnels and sand dunes as they would nest either in penguin burrows in the wild or sand grasses.
Grounds Manager, Julia Meldrum, said: “It is great to have these ducks as an attraction at Martin Mere. Their unique habitat really creates a new style of enclosure at the Centre and ensures that it is a great opportunity for our visitors to learn about endangered species from South America and the conservation work of WWT.”
Steamer ducks are massive chunky birds and are the heaviest species of duck. There are two breeds of Steamers: flying and flightless. The Flying Steamer Duck is the smallest of the breeds because they are smaller and lighter, and can be heard making a repeated mewing sound. The birds have a very distinctive freckled body with a white stomach and long tail. They are extremely territorial and will be the only birds in their enclosure. We will feed them on sea duck diet, a specially formulated individual dried pellet containing all the vitamins and minerals required for the bird.
The development of the Steamer enclosure is part of a larger development in the South American area of the grounds this year. Other developments have included clearing shrubs so that we can maintain and create better viewing of the Chilean Flamingo nesting site and we are creating a lawned area for grazing of Chiloe Wigeon and for the Chilean Flamingos to march and display prior to nesting.
A very unusual bird: Screamers will also be released in the South American area in the next couple of months and the development of their enclosure will be beginning shortly.
WWT Martin Mere is open every day from 9.30am to 5.00pm and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit/martinmere/ to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight centres.
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