Ducks' warm welcome into world

The ducklings have been keeping warm in the flamingo house

Unseasonably mild weather is thought to have prompted the hatching of nine ducklings in Lancashire.

The brood of mallard ducks came into the world at Martin Mere Wetland Centre, West Lancashire.

Warmer than normal temperatures for this time of year have bucked the trend of ducklings usually being hatched between May and July.

The ducklings have been keeping warm in the heated greater flamingo house at the Rufford centre.

Whooper swans

"It is great to see them surviving and watching our visitors' faces light up when they realise we have ducklings in December," said Andy Wooldridge, grounds manager at Martin Mere.

"Mallard ducklings are not completely uncommon at this time of year, but it is a very unusual sight to see which illustrates how the warmer weather is beginning to merge the seasons," he said.

The wildlife centre has already chalked up a number of firsts this year due to the changing world climate.

Mediterranean black-winged stilts nested for the first time in 100 years and whooper swans arrived late from Iceland in October because the weather was not cold enough for them to leave their breeding ground.