Although British by birth, Mike and Ali Lubbock, along with their son Brent, have become “The First Family of American Aviculture” 

Sunrise to sundown, the mindsets of Mike and Ali Lubbock are focused on caring for their precious birds―over 3,000 ducks, geese, swans, and cranes in what is now the largest collection of waterfowl in the world. Their goal is to make a difference, to preserve these rare and endangered birds from extinction. It’s a job that requires literally constant attention—a true labor of love. 

Every night at the Lubbock’s family home, the same ritual is performed. After the last bird has been fed and every new hatchling has examined, Ali fixes the evening meal. Mike, Ali and the Sylvan Heights’ staff, interns and volunteers sit down to eat together. What is the topic of conversation? Birds, of course. What chores need to be completed tomorrow, who will take care of what in the morning? As they dine and discuss the events of the day, Mike instructs the interns in the details of being an aviculturalist, the apprentices learning from the master. He does it because he loves to teach, to shape the minds of the next generation of conservation-oriented aviculturalists, and he does it for the future of waterfowl.

Since boyhood, Mike Lubbock has served as a wildlife guardian. Raised on a farm near Somerset, England, Mike’s world has revolved around raising and caring for birds and animals. This youthful passion for being an avian caretaker eventually led him to the Wildfowl Trust in Slimbridge, England, where he served first as a volunteer and eventually became the assistant curator. There he first met his eventual wife, Ali, who was serving as a volunteer at the Wildfowl Trust. She was frequently sent on assignment to Scotland to assist in the netting of Barnacle Geese. 

While at the Wildfowl Trust, Mike continually refined and improved waterfowl propagation techniques. The founder of the Trust, Sir Peter Scott, quickly recognized the special talent and skill Mike possessed—a skill that enabled him to raise birds that no one else could. Mike’s success came from intense study and his uncanny ability to “think like a bird”. After eight years at the Trust, Mike’s many avicultural achievements brought him international fame. 

Because of this knowledge and expertise, he was sought out here in the United States to design and develop a large duck farm on Long Island, New York. Duck Puddle Farm became the most successful wildfowl propagation center in the world. Mike’s list of achievements in New York was manifold. Between 1969 and 1975 alone, no less than 15 North American first breedings were accomplished. 

This unprecedented success gave cause for his previous employer, the Wildfowl Trust, to encourage him to return, this time as Director of Aviculture for all the Trust centers. It was during this time period that Mike did a considerable amount of fieldwork. In addition to being exceptionally grueling, fieldwork can involve a large amount of personal risk. Mike endured plane crashes, crocodile attacks, poisonous snakes, leeches, tropical diseases, political unrest and major storms. He was marooned for three days on an unnamed island off the coast of Chile.

Mike’s pioneering efforts for collecting fertile eggs in the field revolutionized the acquisition of rare birds from the wild. It allowed the wild population to remain stable while introducing new bloodlines to managed populations of rare birds. Freckled Ducks, Pink-eared Ducks, Pygmy Geese, Australian Blue-billed Ducks and Musk Ducks, just to name a few, all benefited from the innovative propagation techniques Mike developed and refined over the years.

While at the Wildfowl Trust the second time, Mike and Ali were married—years after their initial meeting. However, Mike yearned to return to America, so they moved to the U.S., working with private collections in Montgomery, Alabama and Sylva, in the mountains of North Carolina. Ultimately, it was the final move to Scotland Neck in 1989 that proved to be the fulfillment of their dream of having their own collection.

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and Breeding Center was built from the raw earth of eastern North Carolina to the magnificent facility we see today. But Sylvan Heights did not come to be without extremely hard work. Mike was personally involved in constructing all the facilities—from digging postholes and pools, to building barns and stringing wire. Ali supports the effort heartily, by coordinating the numerous events that occur at the breeding center and the waterfowl park, caring for the birds as well as the visitors and volunteers—and of course, fixing the evening meal for all who come to work with the birds.

In recent years, Mike and Ali have been recipients of high honors and distinctions for their lifetime endeavor on behalf of waterfowl. Mike was awarded the prestigious Jean DeLacour Avicultural Award and Mike and Ali were both inducted into the International Wild Waterfowl Association’s Hall of Fame, given as a tribute to those who, through extra-ordinary achievement and dedicated service, have contributed significantly to the preservation and collective knowledge of waterfowl.

And now the Lubbock’s son, Brent, is a full-fledged member of the Sylvan Heights flock, serving as the Membership and Development Projects Manager for Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park.

All of Mike and Ali’s labor of love has paid them a handsome dividend—the freedom to pursue a series of challenging and vital conservation and education projects, designed to be an integral part of preserving the world’s most endangered waterfowl for future generations.