A small colony of Muscovy ducks at Calstock is declining despite the care of members of the local community.

The population which was 13 strong in 2023 has now been depleted to just four, one male and three females with concerns in the village that they could disappear completely.

Calstock local Peter Thompson, better known as the duck whisperer, cares for the ducks alongside Celia Williams from the Tamar Inn and Tina North. He alerted the community to a recent injury to one of the colony, Custard.

After spotting chunks of white feathers and a well-scavenged carcass in the river mud by the slipway, Peter feared for the worst for the youngest of the three left from the original brood of ten he helped to rescue in March after spotting that one by one, they were disappearing.

He said: “On Sunday morning I went down to feed them and the two smaller ducks, Kiwi and Crumpet were there but no sign of Custard. I could see the remains of a duck in the mud so I put two and two together and figured that Custard had met a nasty end. It was quite upsetting.”

However when Peter went to feed the ducks the following morning, to his surprise Custard was there but with a deep wound across her chest.

He managed to catch the duck and the gash was treated by two veterinary nurses at the local Calweton Vets. She was released back to the slipway after two days rehab in Peter’s garden.

“Custard is back where she belongs,” he said. “She’s not out of the woods yet. It was quite a serious injury with some quite deep holes in her skin.”

Peter first started caring for the ducks, traditionally farm ducks that live wild at Calstock, in 2010.

He said: “They would get mucus covering their eyes when the wind blew cold and dry for days, temporarily blinding them. I would bathe their eyes in saline solution to clear them.”

He started feeding them, with mixed grain and never bread, during Covid, even taking in a goose at Christmas after it was attacked by a dog.

He said: “I was experiencing issues beyond my control and suffering from depression. The ducks gave me solace. I believe a lot of people benefit from feeding the ducks; one elderly gentleman used to come on the train from Totnes every Sunday just to feed them.”

Now, after a series of attacks on the ducks, and the loss of the brood’s mum Sylvia, Peter has concerns for the future of the village’s Muscovy duck population.

Custard’s sister Crumpet also recently sustained a badly bruised foot after being hit by a car and is slowly recovering.

“A few years ago there were about 13 Muscovy ducks and cross breeds. Numbers have dwindled down due to old age, road kills and dog attacks. Not everyone approves of us feeding them. Some people call them vermin and a nuisance, but a lot of them appreciate that they’re there.”