On Tuesday of last week (18th June) the first of these eggs hatched and the next day the last two hatched. Obviously my first instinct was delight at the sight of the 3 chicks and the brooding female. Then the realisation that the mortality rate in this species is relatively high for chicks and the likely hood is that only 1 would survive.
On the Thursday we had a beautiful sunny day and the castle was busy with tourists, needless to say the cute little chicks stole the show and demanded a lot of attention from the public. The problems began when the chicks started walking about on the pebbles, falling over and getting stuck on their backs. This resulted in members of the public stepping over the ropes and turning the chicks back onto their feet. This may not sound like a bad thing, however the female was getting more and more agitated and when another member of staff informed that tourists where feeding the birds pudding from the restaurant I decided to take some time on guard duty.
I increased the area that was roped off and put up further signage asking the public not to feed or touch the birds. As I watched the chicks got themselves into difficult situations, then sorted themselves out, then got into difficulties again. The main issue here was not that the chicks fell on their backs as this is likely to happen in the wild anyway, the problem was tourists with children watching these cute little birds struggle and some naive members of the public asking how I could be so cruel.
Well simply the answer is that its not cruel but natural. It is probable in the wild that only 1 chick would survive and nearby there are Jackdaws with broods to feed, Kestrels, Stoats, Weasels etc all with young at this time of year. The harsh reality is that these Oystercatcher chicks die but they feed a species in a higher trophic level and natures plan continues. However this is not the easiest concept to explain to excited tourists and parents that don't particularly want their children to see a Jackdaw come and rip a cute ball of fluff to shreds.
The decision of how to handle the situation was made a little easier as the smallest of the chicks began to struggle more and more and appeared to be rejected by the female. Although I was comfortable with a chick dying during the night and being food for another animal, I felt a little unsure about allowing it to die and remain lying out in the open in front of the public for hours. Therefor I decided to call the SSPCA, they arrived within 20mins and took the chick away where it will be reared in a special facility and released back in to the wild.
After all this it felt good knowing that the situation had been resolved....or so I though.....
OYSTERCATCHER SAGA PART III
The next morning I arrived at work and one of the cleaners came to find me with the second small chick in her hands. The chick had been found on its own at a door far away from its mother and sibling. It was in a very bad state so I got some hay and put it in a small box in a quiet, warm room, then back on the phone to the SSPCA who again came out and took the chick away. They were however less optimistic about this chicks chances. Unfortunately we will never know if the chicks make it as the they are now at a facility with many other birds and impossible to keep track of. I am happy to report that last we saw the first born chick look very healthy and is happily following its parents around the estate. So I guess a happy ending was had....so far!
(Oystercatcher chick waiting to be picked up by SSPCA)
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