Visitors to a local wildlife park can see some fluffy new arrivals which mark the success of a vital breeding programme.
Washington Wetlands Centre is delighted at the recent hatching of four ducklings. And the feathery favourites are now on show to visitors at the Wearside reserve where, amid the rocketing temperatures, they are under the watchful eye of experts and well cared for.
Staff had been keeping fingers crossed that its Meller's ducks would successfully breed because the species is on the verge of being 'critically endangered'. And the happy result is only the second time that Meller's ducklings have hatched in WWT's 47-year history.
