The Slimbridge Collection 125 The Slimbridge Collection—the first 21 years S. T. JOHNSTONE When the Wildfowl Trust started in late breeding in captivity was at San Diego 1946, the aftermath of war made the Zoo. acquisition of waterfowl extremely diffi­ All the whistling ducks have been cult and it was due to the kindness of established at Slimbridge and all have Gavin Maxwell, who loaned to the Trust nested, although as yet we have not reared his private collection, that we were able the Eyton’s or Javan. We reared the to show our early visitors a fairly repre­ Wandering Whistling Duck on two occa­ sentative selection of swans, geese and sions, but sad to relate the species is no ducks of some sixty-five different kinds. longer represented in the collection, and During the succeeding twenty-one until such time as birds are again ex­ years, this nucleus has been built up in­ ported from Indonesia, it is unlikely that to the largest and most comprehensive we shall be able to acquire new speci­ collection of the Anatidae in the world. mens. Of the 247 species and races of waterfowl, Slimbridge has a comprehensive col­ 185 have been represented at Slimbridge, lection of swans and although they are 142 have nested and 137 have been reared. perforce kept in rather small pens all have Fourteen of these were the first breeding bred with the exception of the Whisding recorded in captivity. At the present Swan. The nearest this form got to time there are some 2,000 birds of 171 breeding was when the female died from different kinds. an impaction of the oviduct when laying The Magpie Goose has done well at her first egg. We have the only breeding Slimbridge. The original female that Bewick’s Swans in captivity. The female, came with the Monreith collection, a pre­ a wild bird caught in Holland, started to war wild-caught bird, was paired to a lay after being at Slimbridge for eight wild male from Australia. When she was years. Her mate was a juvenile, caught at least eighteen years old she commenced in the Rushy Pen in 1947 which, after breeding and did so for the succeeding several years of breeding, died in the ten years until her death this year. The autumn of 1962. Subsequent efforts to only other recorded case of Magpie Geese find a satisfactory new mate for the 126 Wildfowl female proved unsuccessful until in 1966 for, although we have kept a Longtail she became enamoured of one of her drake for nine years, Harlequins for five, sons and in 1967 again produced two and Common Scoters for seven years, it fine cygnets. is felt that the new pond might facilitate There are forty kinds of geese and the breeding of these attractive ducks. So sheldgeese in the collection, the Kelp far we have only bred the Common and Goose being the only species that we Barrow’s Goldeneyes. have failed to establish at the New All species of pochard are kept at the Grounds. Three attempts have been made New Grounds and all breed regularly to accomplish this: first by the collection with the exception of the Ring-necked of adult birds on the Falkland Islands Duck which has nested, but its young by Dr. W. Sladen; secondly by the pur­ have not been reared. chase of adult birds from Dutch dealers; Among the perching ducks it is some thirdly by hand-rearing goslings on the years since we had a White-winged Wood islands with turkey starter crumbs and Duck in the collection, and in spite of bringing the juvenile birds back. In each considerable efforts we have been unable case the birds eventually succumbed to to obtain new specimens. Our Hartlaub’s aspergillosis. This was particularly sad in Ducks were the first to breed in captivity the case of the last project; Peter Glad­ and from these a hand-reared stock has stone and Charles Martell on their ex­ been established in other collections pedition hand-reared some 17 Kelp where they are now breeding. We have Geese on the Falklands and brought managed to keep African and Indian them back to Slimbridge; but all had Pygmy Geese going in fairly unsatisfac­ died within twelve months (see p. 25). tory conditions during the last ten years. Our principal success in the goose field Now we have a fine Tropical House has been with the Hawaiian Goose or where they are duly installed and we hope Ne-ne. In the sixteen years that we have will breed. been breeding this rare bird, 226 have been reared from the original two All the European sawbills have been females that were sent to us in 1950 and reared at Slimbridge and the hand-reared a further 130 birds in other collections birds did very well for a number of to which we have loaned breeding pairs. years. But subsequently the Goosanders Among the surface-feeding ducks, three and Red-breasted Mergansers developed kinds unique to our collection are the tuberculosis, and a large number were Salvadori’s Duck, the New Zealand Blue lost. The disease so far has not affected or Mountain Duck and the Galapagos the Smew which breed regularly. This Pintail. Rare species that we have hand- may be because they are not really mer­ reared and provided stock for world gansers but more closely related to the collections include Bronze-winged Duck, goldeneyes. The first Hooded Mergan­ Kerguelen Pintail, New Zealand Brown sers to be reared at Slimbridge were from Duck, Laysan Teal, Cape Shoveler, New chipping eggs collected in the United Zealand Shoveler and Ringed Teal. States and flown over in special boxes, During the past year we have had hatching a few days after arrival. seven of the eight forms of eiders in the Of the stiff-tails, four species have been collection. A pair of Pacific Eiders were kept successfully — North American reared from eggs collected in the Yukon Ruddy Duck, Peruvian Ruddy Duck, but unfortunately they died last autumn. Maccoa and White-headed Duck, also We have, however, two drake and four the more doubtfully related species, duck Spectacled Eiders which came as White-backed Duck and Black-headed juveniles and have now joined our adult Duck. Of these, the North American drake in the Rushy Pen. We have been Ruddy has bred consistently and reared breeding King Eiders for a number of its young successfully by itself. The years and have found that the females White-backed Ducks have laid for the are much more robust than the males. last three years but so far we have not None of the hand-reared males have sur­ managed to rear any of the young that vived for more than two years. It would have hatched. appear that fast-flowing, and cold, water A list of kinds of waterfowl that have is essential to eiders’ well-being; birds been represented at Slimbridge follows. that we have kept on our Waterfall pond Against those present at the end of 1967 have fared much better than those put on is set the number of individuals. Forms ponds more remote from the source of which have been reared are marked (+ ), supply. It is proposed to build a special or (*) if we were the first to breed them pond for the eiders and other sea ducks in captivity. The Slimbridge Collection 127 Anatidae represented at Slimbridge, 1946-67 Present at Breeding end of record 1967 1946-67 Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata 6 + Spotted Whistling Duck Dendrocygna guttata 1 ★ Eyton’s Whistling Duck D. eytoni 14 Wandering Whistling Duck D. arcuata + Fulvous Whistling Duck D. bicolor 15 + Cuban Whistling Duck D. arborea 8 Javan Whistling Duck D. javanica 20 White-faced Whistling Duck D. viduata 30 + Northern Red-billed Whistling Duck D. a. autumnalis 25 + Southern Red-billed Whistling Duck D. a. discolor 25 + Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba 6 J- Black Swan Cygnus atratus 4 Mute Swan C. olor + Black-necked Swan C. melanocoryphus 5 + Whistling Swan C. c. columbianus 4 Bewick’s Swan C. c. bewickii 6 ★ Jankowski’s Swan C. c. jankowskii 1 Whooper Swan C. c. Cygnus 6 -r Trumpeter Swan C. c. buccinator 17 Swan Goose Anser cygnoides 9 + Western Bean Goose A. f. fabalis 9 -f- Russian Bean Goose A. f. rossicus 5 * Thick-billed Bean Goose A. ƒ. serroriostris 3 Pink-footed Goose A. brachyrhynchus 16 European White-fronted Goose A. a. albifrons 14 + Pacific White-fronted Goose A. a. frontalis 9 Greenland White-fronted Goose A. a. flavirostris 15 4. Lesser White-fronted Goose A. erythropus 19 + Western Greylag Goose A. a. anser 20 “ Eastern Greylag Goose A. a. rubrirostris 5 + Bar-headed Goose A. indicus 9 ■4* Emperor Goose A. canagicus 23 + Lesser Snow Goose A. c. caerulescens 10 + Greater Snow Goose A. c. atlanticus 24 + Ross’s Snow Goose A. rossii 28 + Atlantic Canada Goose Branta c. canadensis 2 + Moffitt’s Canada Goose B. c. moffitti 4 + Giant Canada Goose B. c. maxima 2 + Taverner’s Canada Goose B. c. taverneri 6 + Dusky Canada Goose B. c. occidentalis 6 -Γ Vancouver Canada Goose B. c. fidva 2 + Aleutian Canada Goose B. c. leucopareia 2 Richardson’s Canada Goose B. c. hutchinsii 3 Cackling Canada Goose B. c. minima 8 + Hawaiian Goose B. sandvicensis 101 + Barnacle Goose B. leucopsis 30 + Dark-bellied Brent Goose B. b. bernicla 6 Light-bellied Brent Goose B. b. hrota Black Brant B. b. orientalis 15 Red-breasted Goose B. ruficollis 31 + Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea 6 + Cape Shelduck T.