Egg-napped! Duck eggs disappear from Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey’s hopes of breeding little white ducklings to greet visitors this summer seem to have been dashed after a dozen eggs were taken from the duck’s nest over the weekend.

One of the female ducks, who was recently given the name Hilda by visitors to the site, had been sitting on a growing clutch of eggs for well over a week, with staff regularly monitoring the nest and ducks to keep them safe from foxes and other four-legged predators. However, it seems that a human had taken a fancy to the eggs, as sometime between the Abbey closing on Saturday evening and staff returning on Sunday morning, the eggs went missing.

“We know that there are foxes living around this area, so our fear was that a fox might try and steal the eggs, but there was absolutely no sign of the nest being disturbed – the eggs had simply vanished, so we can only assume that somebody has stolen them,” says visitor operations site supervisor, Kath Trumper. “Normally, the ducks come running when they see a member of staff approaching them with food, but on Sunday morning, they would not come near us, so it is clear that the theft has adversely affected them.”

Whitby Abbey staff are hoping that the theft will not put the ducks off trying to raise a new clutch of ducklings. Indeed, the site already has an incubator, and staff are considering trying to save eggs for hand-rearing if Hilda and her mate, Hugh, fall victim to thieves in the future.

The Abbey’s four ducks were donated to the site earlier this year, and visitors over the Easter holidays were invited to choose names for them. The most popular selections were Hilda and Hugh, after the Abbey’s founder, St Hild and later owner, Hugh Cholmley, and Caedmon, after Whitby’s famous poet. The last duck has been named Duckula!

Anyone with any information about the egg theft should contact Whitby Abbey on 01947 603568.

If you’d like to visit the Abbey (and its ducks), it is open daily from 10.00am to 6.00pm, with admission prices of £5.80 for adults, £4.90 for concessions and £2.90 for children, or £14.50 for a family ticket (two adults and up to three children). English Heritage members get in free.

ENDS

For further media information, please contact: Jay Commins PRO – English Heritage Tel: 0113 251 5698 Mob: 07810 546567 Email: jay@fim.org.uk