Owl adopts ducklings born in 30ft-high nest

Friday, 14 May 2010

A tawny owl is acting as surrogate mother to two ducklings born 30ft (9.1m) up a tree after their natural mother laid her eggs in the wrong nest.

Mary Hartley was expecting to see owlets after four eggs appeared in her nest box in Marple Bridge, Stockport.

But when she checked a nest box camera she was surprised to find two Mandarin ducklings jumping around inside.

Despite the perilous height of the box, Mrs Hartley said they would eventually climb out and "float down".

The bird enthusiast has had owls nesting in her garden for the past 25 years.

'Very caring'

Two owlets, also born in the nest, are being cared for by the mother alongside the two-day-old ducklings.

Speaking to the BBC, Mrs Hartley said: "We think that the mandarin duck must have gone into the box - because we have two pairs of mandarins - and laid her eggs and suddenly realised it was the owl box.

"Because when the owl came back she then laid her own eggs in the box - confusion all round."

But even though the ducklings' surrogate mother is a predator, she has shown no sign of aggression towards them.

"She's been very good," Mrs Hartley said.

"She's been very caring, although it does confuse her a little when she tries to feed them with meat - because of course they don't like it."

Another mandarin duck has already successfully raised 13 ducklings born in another - albeit empty - owl box in the garden, leading Mrs Hartley to believe the current pair will survive.

"They all managed to jump out of the box on their own as mother calls them," Mrs Hartley added.

"And because the box is 30ft up the tree it's quite exciting as she waits at the bottom to see if they can float down and she can take them to the stream."

See video at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8682411.stm