Flatford Wildlife Garden will be open this weekend for Mother's Day. You can visit on Saturday 18 or Sunday 19 March between 10:30 and 3:30. While at the garden this weekend, you'll be able to look at the spring flowering bulbs and enjoy the sight and smells of the garden reawkening after the winter. You'll even be able to collect a free daffodil! Then it's just a couple more weeks to wait until the garden opens daily for the spring and summer, from 31st March onwards.
Of course it's a time of year when nature is gearing itself up for the breeding season, with many females set to become mothers over the next weeks and months. In nature, there are two main categories of young - precocial and altricial.
Altricial animals are born in a helpless state and are hugely dependent on their parents. The term altricial comes from the Latin alere, which means "to nurse, to rear, or to nourish." Most of the birds around Flatford fall under this category. Songbirds, pigeons, woodpeckers and herons are all born relatively immobile and lacking in hair or down. As they are not able to obtain food on their own, the mother and father have a huge job collecting food and bringing it back to the nest.
By contrast, head down to the river at Flatford and you'll find examples of birds whose young are born in a precocial state, such as ducks and swans. In precocial species, the young are born in a much more capable condition, with open eyes, hair or down and larger brains. They quickly become mobile, so have some ability to flee from predators right from the outset. They must get used to doing things for themselves from a very early age. For example, mallard ducklings spend just 10 hours in the nest after hatching while they dry and get used to using their legs. Then, usually in the early morning, the mother leads them to water, for the sooner the ducklings get to water to feed, the better their chances of survival. They are immediately able to feed for themselves.
However, even in precocial birds, the mother still plays a huge role in the survival of her young. When feeding for themselves, mallard ducklings must learn from their mother what is edible and what should be left well alone. They also depend on their mother for warmth for a few days. She broods them regularly, particularly at night, as they easily chill in cold weather. The down of the ducklings is not naturally waterproof. They get the waterproofing for their down from their mother. She also protects her ducklings from attacks by other mallards. Ducks do not tolerate stray ducklings close to their own brood, and females kill small strange young they encounter. Ducklings take 50-60 days to fledge (fly) and become fully independent.
Mute swan and cygnet - an example of a precocial bird. The cygnets can walk, swim and feed for themselves shortly after hatching
Katie Nethercoat (rspb-images.com)
We look forward to seeing many of you at Flatford Wildlife Garden this weekend, and to seeing the mothers in nature hard at work looking after their young over the next weeks and months!