Endangered ducks on an island in Barrow, which are described as on the 'plump' side, were subject to a strange but harmless practice to ensure their protection.

Eiders, which are the UK's heaviest ducks, can be found on Foulney Island Nature Reserve and were placed into a round, blue tube as part of important work done by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

The ducks were weighed, measured and ringed in a similar procedure done to the Osprey chicks at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve last month.

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Speaking on the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Facebook page, a member of the team explained: "Eider ducks are listed as 'Near Threatened' on the IUCN Red List, so it’s really important that we monitor them.

"As we continue to add rings to the eider ducks we see at Foulney Island, sightings by our Warden will become more frequent, which will help us to build a really accurate picture of eider survival and movements at Foulney."

(Image: Laurie Campbell) Eiders are the UK’s heaviest duck at around 2kg so with 84 ducks ringed in total, the process was described as 'a pretty good workout' for the team of licensed bird ringers, including seasonal warden Will Michaels.

The team used a technique called 'cannon netting' which was described as: "basically launching a big net over a group of ducks, so that trained extractors can take the birds to holding cages, before quickly ringing and releasing them. "

The coloured rings used are the same as the Foulshaw Osprey rings with large letters that can be read from a distance.

This ensures that the birds don't need recapturing in order to collect lots of valuable data and can just be observed through a scope. 

(Image: Cumbria Wildlife Trust) The Eider seaduck, as well as being the UK's heaviest duck, is also the fastest flying and is usually found on Northern coasts.

Their soft, downy feathers have been used not only to line and insulate their nest, but also by humans to stuff quilts and pillows. 

So much so, that that the eider nearly became extinct in the 19th century.

(Image: Cumbria Wildlife Trust)

Now, Will monitor their numbers as per his role as seasonal warden.

This year, Will was employed by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

Each year, a seasonal warden is paid to live on the 18-hectare island, in a caravan in order protect birds of the island.

This includes Arctic, common and little tern as well as ringed plover, oystercatcher, eider, skylark and meadow pipit.