British Waterfowl Association

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British Waterfowl Association

The BWA is a registered charity dedicated to education about waterfowl and their conservation. We're in this together to create a welcoming environment.

We welcome anyone with an interest in waterfowl, irrespective of your level of expertise. By being kind and courteous, we can all learn about our shared interest and feel this is a safe space for all. Healthy debates are natural, we all have things to learn from each other but please, no hate speech or belittling. Bullying of any kind isn't allowed, and degrading comments about things like race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity particularly will not be tolerated. We hope you'll give more than you take to this hobby. If you like what we do, please share! If you don't, let us know privately, and we will do our best to reflect and make our page better for all. Thank you.

09/10/2026

🦆 ONE VERY GOOD DAY OUT! 🪿🦢

The 35th Champion Waterfowl Exhibition is happening on Sunday 11th October 2026 at Stratford Park Leisure Centre in Stroud.

Come along and meet hundreds of ducks and geese, chat to fellow waterfowl enthusiasts and enjoy a day celebrating some truly fabulous feathered friends! 🥰

📅 Sunday 11th October 2026
📍 Stratford Park Leisure Centre, Stroud, Gloucestershire
⏰ 10am–3pm

And you DON’T need to be a British Waterfowl Association member to come along! 🎉

Whether you’re a lifelong waterfowl lover or just curious to see what all the fuss is about, everyone is welcome. 💙

👉 Pop the date in your diary and come and say quack! 🦆😂

07/10/2026

‼️WILD WEDNESDAY QUIZ‼️

With the Champion Waterfowl Exhibition coming up next weekend, we thought we’d test your waterfowl knowledge!

Which of these is NOT something you might expect to see at a Champion Waterfowl Exhibition?

A) Ducks 🦆
B) Geese 🪿
C) Fabulous feathers ✨
D) A duck wearing a top hat 🎩🦆

Think you know your waterfowl from your wildfowl? 😜

Drop your answer below… and no asking the ducks! 😂

The answer to last weeks’ WWQ:
The white-winged duck feeds nocturnally.

05/10/2026

🪿🦆 🦢SAVE THE DATE!

The 35th Champion Waterfowl Exhibition is coming to Stroud! 🎉

Join the British Waterfowl Association on Sunday 11th October 2026 for a fantastic day out and the chance to see hundreds of ducks and geese all under one roof!

📍 Stratford Park Leisure Centre, Stroud, Gloucestershire
⏰ 10am–3pm

You don’t have to be a BWA member to attend — everyone is welcome! 💙

Whether you already keep waterfowl, are thinking about getting some, or simply love ducks and geese, come along, meet the exhibitors and enjoy a day surrounded by fabulous feathered friends!

🦆 Come along and get your quack on! 🪿

02/10/2026

Let’s talk duck poo 🦆💩

Pal-mates weekend web tip

It might not be the most glamorous subject, but your duck’s droppings can actually tell you quite a bit about their health! 👀

Unlike mammals, ducks don’t urinate separately. Instead, their urinary waste is converted into urates and mixed with their digestive waste in the cloaca.

So, that familiar white bit you see in duck poo? That’s the urates! The rest is digestive waste. 💩

The colour and consistency of droppings can vary naturally depending on what your duck has been eating and how much water they’re drinking.

🌿 Brown, green and grey are all common colours
🫐 Some foods can produce surprising colours — blueberries, for example, can give droppings a rather impressive bluish-green tinge!
💦 Lots of water or moisture-rich foods can make droppings much wetter and looser, particularly during hot weather.

The important thing is to know what’s normal for your own ducks. Getting familiar with their usual droppings means you’re more likely to notice when something changes.
Checking the poo is officially part of duck keeping! 😂🦆💩

📸

30/09/2026

‼️WILD WEDNESDAY QUIZ‼️

Ducks have a tough time at this time of year!

The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (Asarcornis scutulata) is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus Cairina (Muscovy duck) and allied with the dabbling ducks.

The most noticeable feature on adult birds, is the dark body contrasting with a whitish head and neck. Males have mostly dull yellowish bill, blackish mottling on the head and upper neck, white lesser median coverts and inner edges of tertials and bluish-grey secondaries. In flight, white wing-coverts contrast with the rest of the wings. Females are smaller and usually have more densely mottled head and upper neck. The juvenile is duller and browner.

Its diet consists of seeds, aquatic plants, grain, rice, snails, small fish and insects. It inhabits stagnant or slow-flowing natural and artificial wetlands, within or adjacent to evergreen, deciduous or swamp forests, on which it depends for roosting and nesting, usually in tree-holes.

What is its preferred feeding time?

📸 J Harteman

The answer to last weeks’ WWQ:
Common Eider

28/09/2026

🦆🪿 THE 35th CHAMPION WATERFOWL EXHIBITION! 🪿🦆

Fancy a quacking good day out? 😍

Come along on Sunday 11th October and meet hundreds of ducks and geese at the British Waterfowl Association’s Champion Waterfowl Exhibition!

📍 Stratford Park Leisure Centre, Stroud, Gloucestershire
⏰ 10am–3pm
📅 Sunday 11th October 2026

And the best bit… you don’t need to be a BWA member! 🎉

Whether you’re a seasoned waterfowl enthusiast, thinking about keeping ducks or geese, or simply love looking at lots of fabulous feathered friends, everyone is welcome! 🥰

Come and meet the birds, chat to exhibitors and enjoy a fantastic day celebrating all things waterfowl. 🦆🪿💙

Put the date in your diary — we’d love to see you there!

27/09/2026

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25/09/2026

🪿🌱 GEESE & GRASS — A little autumn reminder!

Pal-mates weekend web tip

After the scorching summer we’ve had, your goose areas might be looking more crispy than grassy… 🔥

Domestic geese are enthusiastic lawnmowers, happily munching their way through grass, aquatic plants, seed heads, weeds and even fallen fruit. Depending on breed, forage quality and the time of year, one goose can eat around 200g of grass and forage a day! 😳

Good-quality grass is an important part of a goose’s diet, but during periods when the grass isn’t providing everything they need, a suitable supplementary feed can help fill the gaps.

🌱 Spring grass is generally at its richest, while grass for geese should ideally be kept fairly short so they can digest it easily.

And now autumn is here, it’s a good time to look at those gardens, paddocks etc and think about repairing and reseeding any areas that have been scorched, worn or grazed down over the summer before winter arrives.

23/09/2026

‼️WILD WEDNESDAY QUIZ‼️

Known locally in the North as "Cuddy Ducks" they are named after Saint Cuthbert who protected the birds nesting on the nearby Farne Islands, and they've been associated with him for over 1,300 years.

They breed on coastal islands or along ponds and lagoons near the sea. The young can leave the nest within 24 hours after hatching and can feed themselves, though the female often stays with the young for several weeks.

They have this iconic 'woo' noise…

But what species are they?

The answer to last weeks’ WWQ:
Known as comfort movements

21/09/2026

🦆🪿 🦢LAST CHANCE TO ENTER! 🪿🦆🦢

Just a little reminder that entries for the British Waterfowl Association Champion Waterfowl Exhibition close TOMORROW! ⏰

‼️Tuesday 22nd September‼️

If you’ve been meaning to enter your beautiful birds… this is your nudge! 😉

Don’t miss out — get your entries in before the deadline! 🏆✨

Address

Carlisle

Telephone

+447514601167

Website

http://waterfowl.org.uk/

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