A family of Egyptian Goose chicks have caused a stir at Attenborough Nature reserve after six young birds hatched six weeks earlier than expected.
The birds, which are not native to the UK and originally come from the Sahara, have been visiting the reserve for more than 40 years.
Staff say visitors have been shocked to see the unusual-looking birds, and have been interested to know what they are.
People aren’t sure what they are
Erin McDaid from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said: “Feeding the ducks and seeing the ducks is a really popular thing for visitors to do here, and they’ve been really surprised to see them quite so early.”
“We’ve been having very frosty mornings, and some people have been worried if this is going to effect them, but hopefully if they get plenty of food they will be fine.”
Picture: The chicks hatched six weeks earlier than usual
“The Egyptian Geese themselves, the adults particularly, pose most questions for us on our reception – people just aren’t sure what they are. They’re a non-native species but they’ve been in the UK for a couple of hundred years or more.”
With spring starting to bloom, the centre has started to receive its annual influx of bird-watching visitors, who come from across the UK to see the wildlife.
