Harteman Wildfowl Aviaries
Spread the bird!
Welcome to Harteman Wildfowl Aviaries, a private facility in the Netherlands with a focus on the aviculture and conservation of waterfowl. Harteman Wildfowl contributes to the global knowledge and conservation of the world's ducks, geese and swans by sharing hands-on experience and participating in international ex-situ breeding programmes.
Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?
- Sir David Attenborough
Highlights
World Wetlands Day 2026
2026-02-02 11:49
Wetland restoration and reintroduction of marbled ducks
Nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. Yet, wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, world economies and more.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸, 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅...
World Waterfowl Day 2026
2026-01-17 22:17
Celebrate the world’s waterfowl
The waterfowl group is comprised of more than 170 species of ducks, geese, and swans in the order Anseriformes. Twelve species are currently considered endangered or critically endangered in the wild. Awareness initiatives, like a national or international day of celebration, can emphasize the importance of waterfowl in the natural world and engage the public in learning about this fascinating group of birds....
Waterfowl feeding basics
2025-11-15 10:25
Feeding waterfowl
I've added a new page to discuss feeding captvie ducks, geese and swans. This diversity of species requires a diversity of food types and methods of providing it to them. The type of food depends not only on the type of bird and its natural foraging behaviour, but also on factors such as the life stage of the animals and the time of year - and availability in your region of the world. On this page you can find some basic pri...
Basic waterfowl data
2025-11-11 23:40
Overview of waterfowl basics
Today we've added a schematic overview of some basic information that can be practically used when keeping and breeding waterfowl in aviculture. The data was compiled by private breeders Roelof Jan Breman and Jan Harteman in the early 2000's, and have been published on this website in the past - but then vanished for some years.
Breman drew on personal experiences and notes from other breeders. Jan Harteman added...
