Now is the perfect time to see the chicks of a variety of species at the Cumbria Wildlife Trusts' South Walney Nature Reserve. After a late start, gull chicks are now outnumbering clutches of eggs and young birds are easy to see on the reserve's trails and from the many viewing hides. Numbers look to be slightly down on previous years, with a mere eleven thousand pairs nesting in 2009! 

Eiders have around 500 nests at South Walney, making this one of the biggest colonies in the UK, despite being at the extreme limit of the eiders range. Late June is an ideal time to see the crèches of downy chicks, which are guarded from predators by a number of adult females. The latter are known as 'aunties' due to their protective nature, though they may not be related to the young birds at all. 'Creching' is essential to the chicks' survival, in a place where twenty thousand gulls are looking for a meal for their own youngsters.

Reserve Warden, Mike Douglas said: 'people normally associate eider ducks with remote parts of Scotland. Here in the Barrow area we are lucky to be able to see these magnificent birds on a daily basis.' Although counts of chicks at Walney have been relatively low this year, huge crèches have been seen on Foulney Island, another Cumbria Wildlife Trust Reserve, with 57 counted on a single day in early July.

Chicks will continue to be seen at South Walney into late July. To see the greatest numbers of birds and species, come to the reserve during the high tide period. South Walney is open to visitors between 10.00am and 5.00 pm each day.