Status of Gadwell at Astbury

Gadwall is a very rare species at Astbury with only twelve records during the last twenty three years . They are mostly one day sightings and usually arriving in pairs . The first breeding record in Cheshire was in 1981 when they first bred at Woolston , but are now widespread along the inner Mersey valley. Gadwalls have found several sites in the county to their liking with the population steadily growing . Gadwalls forage almost exclusively on the green parts of plants especially emergent macrophytes , being of such poor nutritional quality the ducks have to eat vast amounts . They tend to breed in areas where the biomass of food plants is high , in deeper waters such as gravel pits and reservoirs. So when you come across a Gadwall at Astbury you should really appreciate how special these birds are to our area and not just take these little ducks for granted they are still a very rare bird in south east Cheshire...... The image below was of yesterday's pair at Astbury photographed by Tracey Stubbs.

Gadwall (T Stubbs).