tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44748119209190204742024-03-13T17:43:05.009-07:00Thames Nature NotesClick on any picture to see it full size.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-34866958438756637242015-07-12T09:53:00.003-07:002015-07-12T09:54:23.334-07:00New kid on the blockWe thought that the nest with 21 eggs would be abandoned as happened last year when two tufted ducks kept laying eggs on top of each others' and none of them hatched. To our amazement I spotted some ducklings inside the nest box 10 days ago and later in the day their mum persuaded them to take to the water. Only five ducklings hatched and one dived the moment it 'hit' the river. We think one may have been injured as it didn't join the other four with their mum so, with a little help from a neighbour, we reunited them all within five minutes but the mum rejected the rescued duckling. Shortly afterwards she and four ducklings returned and we never saw the fifth one again.<br />
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Five 'tuftie' ducklings shortly after hatching</div>
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The mother soon brought her four ducklings back to the nest box for a rest and for several days they used the old nest, still with 16 unhatched eggs, for resting and sleeping. </div>
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The four stayed close to their mum at first</div>
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Mum, with some of her brood, stretches her wing </div>
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After several days the ducklings became more independent and headed off in all directions, with a tendency to follow any duck or goose that swam by! It therefore didn't come as a surprise when first one, then a second baby disappeared.</div>
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By day five only one baby remained and it raced after any passing waterfowl regardless of size or breed. Sometimes its mum would be with it for a while and then she'd fly off a short distance and the little one would do its best to 'scoot' across the water to keep up with her. It appeared to get quite distressed and would call pathetically for its mum but she would abandon it for long periods and suddenly turn up again and stay with it for a little while. The pair would sometimes attempt to go into the neighbouring nest box, which was occupied, but ignored their old nest even though it was now clean and with fresh straw. Scooter, the nickname soon given to the little tuftie, is still with us and adapting well to life with and without his mum. They are together on a regular basis so Scooter hasn't been completely abandoned.</div>
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A sickly looking baby coot </div>
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We don't know what the coots have been up to this year but assume that their first batch of eggs was either sterile or stolen by the magpies and crows. The coots occupied their nest box for several months and I'd given up on them ever hatching any young. The surprise of hearing the winging tones of a young coot alerted me to a new arrival but it really didn't look healthy. One of the parents tried its best to encourage it back towards its nest but it drifted downstream and really struggled to swim back. As I was watching my concern turned to alarm when a herring gull suddenly spotted an easy meal and began to circle and swoop on the defenceless baby coot. The adult did its best to defend the youngster and I tried to frighten the gull but it was determined to dine on a baby coot and, with a final swoop, plucked the baby from the water and flew off with it. I felt really sad for both parents but the next day another sickly youngster appeared then was gone within five minutes. I didn't see what happened to it.</div>
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The determined adult coots started laying yet more eggs and I spotted two before a magpie also noticed the eggs and began stealing them. Finally, with no eggs to show for their efforts the coots gave up and abandoned the nest. </div>
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Eight days later . . . </div>
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For several days I checked just in case the coots had come back but there was no sign of them. I gave it a few more days and then removed the lid of the nest box to clean it out only to discover a neatly formed nest with six eggs! I kept an eye on the ramp up to the nest box and spotted a female tufted duck entering and leaving the box. It hadn't taken her long to avail herself of the unoccupied nest. We think she may be sitting full time now because Scooter and mum aren't able to go inside the box. We don't want to spook the duck so we shall just have to be patient and see what happens. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-68012575139238591372015-06-14T06:07:00.003-07:002015-06-14T06:08:56.846-07:00Cheeky teenage mandarin ducksI was sitting at my computer the other day with the patio doors wide open as it was warm and sunny. I became aware, in the background, of the sound of mandarin ducks, but was concentrating and paid no attention. A little later I got up to answer the phone and found the three young mandarin ducks wandering around the living room!<br />
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The guilty trio swim away with their mum</div>
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Fortunately they hadn't left any calling cards so I very carefully headed them in the direction of the patio door. I didn't want them to panic as they would be more likely to make a mess on the carpet if they felt trapped. Once outside, they remained on the deck and waited for me to put some wheat down for them. Meanwhile mum was keeping a beady eye on them while feeding from the container on the deck table.</div>
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The female mandarin duck that had four a while back now only has one but it is surviving well and is even tamer than the three above. It taps on the glass doors if it can see me and there's no food on the deck!</div>
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Many of the ducks are beginning to moult now and the red crested pochard is no exception. However, he doesn't look nearly as pathetic in moult as do the male mandarin ducks. They look dreadful when they loose most of their striking plumage.</div>
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I haven't been checking the upstairs nest box for a while but thought to do so yesterday only to discover that Flare Tail has laid three eggs and is keeping them well hidden. I'm doing my best to protect the nest from marauding magpies and the crow as it would be really sad to see the eggs stolen. Once a predator has found eggs in a nest it comes back for them all and we have a large family of young magpies whose parents are doing their best to keep them fed.</div>
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Cygnet watches mum preen</div>
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The cygnet is growing up but still has its lovely 'baby' feathers. It copies its parents when they stop to preen which is lovely to see. There's something therapeutic about watching swans and ducks preen.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-22370207460383760092015-06-09T10:16:00.002-07:002015-06-09T10:29:15.123-07:00More ducklingsLonely, the black hybrid female duck, hatched 10 ducklings two days ago but was soon down to seven. She's doing quite well, under the circumstances, as she is frequently attacked by drakes and driven away from her youngsters. The herring gull has also been patrolling the river at low level to snack on any duckling foolish enough not to stick close to its mum. Pike are also taking their share of young waterfowl including ducklings, moorhens, coots and very young cygnets.<br />
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Lonely and some of her brood hurrying away from an aggressive drake</div>
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I was surprised to see Lonely feeding from the table where the mandarin ducks like to be fed. Over the years only three mallards have attempted to feed from there and she's a match for the mandarin ducks, seeing them all off. I'm delighted to say that even the aggressive pigeon awaits his turn when she's around.</div>
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Our cygnet seems to think it's a contortionist</div>
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Proud parents admiring their offspring</div>
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Following a discreet romantic interlude the swans face their youngster who appears to be singularly unimpressed. The family calls round at least six times a day at the moment, mostly so that the cygnet can tuck into some wheat.</div>
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Flare Tail has been looking for a new nest over the last few days and this morning was checking out her old nest box and then the one on the other side of the garden deck. I need to put more straw in that one if she's going to start laying more eggs. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-32847405265934762112015-05-31T07:49:00.001-07:002015-05-31T07:54:51.596-07:00Ugly duckling indeed!Cygnets are so endearing and 'our' cygnet grows more lovely every day. The pen brings it round five or six times daily and I always take the time to stop what I'm doing and admire it. The cob is sometimes with them and there's trouble if another swan happens to be in the vicinity. Both parents race after any rival and the cygnet is left to paddle after them as fast as it can, calling out in distress at being left behind. Fortunately, once intruders have been driven off, the pen returns to allow its exhausted cygnet to climb back under her wings.<br />
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Mum takes the strain</div>
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The swans nearly always approach us from downstream so I have plenty of time to get out their favourite food for them. Sometimes the cygnet gets so excited at the thought of a 'wheat treat' that it slides off mum's back before reaching the feeding station - but not always!</div>
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Time to slide off mum's back for some wheat</div>
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Usually it stays on board till the last minute and then wriggles from under its mum's wings before sliding into the water.</div>
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Getting back on takes a little more effort</div>
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After a substantial snack it's so nice to clamber back under mum's wings but it's never that easy, especially when mum is seeing off a rival swan. Then the cygnet has to paddle hard to keep up with her.</div>
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Preening is essential </div>
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After a good meal it's important to preen before settling down for a snooze under mum's protective wings.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-53443473988995289382015-05-22T09:35:00.000-07:002015-05-22T09:41:38.708-07:00Mandarin duck brings her babiesOne of the mandarin ducks brought her ducklings to see us on Wednesday. There were nine of them to start with but she was down to seven yesterday evening. She has decided to use the empty nest box on the river for the night and once she has ushered them into the box and followed them in, her mate stands guard for a while at the entrance to the box. She has done this for the last two nights, which is great, but there is now a complication. I discovered yesterday that a duck has laid two eggs in the nest! A pair of tufted ducks has been hanging around so I think the egg is probably theirs.<br />
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Mandarin duck with her newly hatched ducklings</div>
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Unfortunately one egg was broken when I checked the box yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure whether it was broken accidentally by the mandarin ducklings and their mum or whether a magpie or crow has discovered the eggs. There is also a third possibility in that the coots are fiercely protective of their own nest close by and have been 'inspecting' the box rather aggressively. I decided to remove the broken egg as it would have made the box smell terrible after a couple of days. I also added more straw to hide the remaining egg. When I peeped inside the box late this morning I was pleased to see that there are now two unbroken eggs and the additional straw has provided good cover and also an extra layer of protection. <br />
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One of the seventeen male mandarin ducks that visit daily</div>
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I should imagine it won't be long before another family of ducklings arrives on the scene but we shall have run out of accommodation if the coot doesn't hurry up and hatch its brood.</div>
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I haven't seen Flare Tail's ducklings for some days but she may still have at least one as she is in the habit of flying in twice a day to wolf down some wheat before flying off again. I think that if she had lost all her ducklings she would remain in the area for much longer. I do hope I'm right and not being unduly optimistic. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-62426762590819804482015-05-19T09:57:00.000-07:002015-05-19T10:00:19.963-07:00Cygnet and goslingsI think that Flare Tail may have lost her ducklings. They appeared on their own a couple of days ago and I thought they might be safe as they seemed to be quite happy to lurk in the shallows between our boat and that of our neighbour's. Flare Tail and her partner, however, spent quite a long time resting in the sunshine on my therapy room's roof the other morning so I'm wondering whether she has either abandoned them or has taken them somewhere safer and heads back to see them after taking a break.<br />
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We used to have a mallard duck we called Goldeneye, also with a brown hybrid partner. She was a disastrous mother, abandoning her ducklings within a day and a half or hatching them as if she got bored and couldn't be bothered with them. I do have just a smidgeon of hope that Flare Tail has her ducklings safely stowed upstream as she flies in to feed and then heads off again in a hurry. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that she's been clever and taken them somewhere safer than our location.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMMA9t6K_8CHBlZg9HyZBpQFrOe4Y1En8t0hdHOv92EY9gx3l6U5imZZX1GTS5Fe74SBVGGxKE9uJT8mgePxgkOnbSJdJpXjsr4IpqTZxaSrUzqEQWpXvLqN0T1ZAowyWFIpXBG6O5K3Q/s1600/Canada+geese+with+goslings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMMA9t6K_8CHBlZg9HyZBpQFrOe4Y1En8t0hdHOv92EY9gx3l6U5imZZX1GTS5Fe74SBVGGxKE9uJT8mgePxgkOnbSJdJpXjsr4IpqTZxaSrUzqEQWpXvLqN0T1ZAowyWFIpXBG6O5K3Q/s320/Canada+geese+with+goslings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Canada geese with goslings</div>
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The Canada geese are excellent parents and are fiercely protective of their young. Even so, this pair now only has two goslings - I'm not sure what happened to the third one. Of an evening they bring them to our floating platform for the night and I haven't the heart to turn them away though they are not my wildfowl of choice as I've seen them attack ducklings. </div>
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Resident swan with cygnet</div>
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Our resident swans were unlucky this year and their nest was regularly raided by magpies and possibly a crow or heron. Hence only one cygnet but they are taking great care of it and it's a joy to watch it sitting proud on mum's back. They visit the feeding platform three or four times a day and the cygnet seems to enjoy small amounts of wheat as a supplement to its diet This morning I laughed out loud as the female swan stretched her neck down to retrieve some wheat that had sunk into the riverbed, tipping the cygnet unceremoniously into the water.</div>
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Another surprise awaited me this morning. One of the mandarin ducks appeared with 9 or 10 ducklings. She's very nervous and protective of her newly hatched youngsters but I'm hoping she'll use the spare duck nesting box as a creche for them tonight. She visited the feeding station several times today with her ducklings but is very wary of humans.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-83697929425384173832015-05-14T10:39:00.001-07:002015-05-14T10:56:07.559-07:00Flare Tail surprises me with three ducklings<br />
Flare Tail surprised me by appearing with three ducklings yesterday. I wasn't sure when she'd started sitting full time so I couldn't predict the exact day when the 'chicks' would arrive. I probably should have guessed that ducklings were due any moment because she didn't come to be fed at all on Tuesday. The first I knew of it was when she and her mate swam past with three ducklings in tow yesterday afternoon.<br />
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She's obviously attractive to other drakes because she has been chased on a regular basis and you can see by the scar on her head that she's received some pretty rough treatment. Last night she was trying to lead her three babies into the empty riverside nest box for the night but was attacked and was forced to leave the ducklings to fend for themselves. I didn't hold out much hope that they'd survive as they tend to swim off downstream when abandoned and I saw no sign of Flare Tail for the rest of the evening so I was delighted to hear three ducklings calling for their mum this morning. They seemed quite happy to feed on their own while they waited for mum to return and at least they weren't chased or pestered by other ducks.<br />
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Flare Tail's kids - two real mallards and a hybrid</div>
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She tried a number of times to be with her ducklings but was chased by rogue drakes until they got bored or she managed to elude them. Finally she reappeared and was left in peace to join the youngsters. Later this morning she and her mate came to feed with the ducklings in tow but I've seen and heard nothing more of any of them today so I hope they're okay, especially as I've just noticed a herring gull on the hunt for a tasty morsel. Fortunately it was driven off by a crow but then crows are almost as lethal. I've seen a fair few ducklings plucked from the water by our resident crows.<br />
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Flare Tail, looking the worse for wear, with her mate</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">We are sometimes joined by a pair of red-crested male pochards and occasionally a female joins them but I think she must be on a nest as I haven't seen her for at least a week.</span></div>
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Male red crested pochard in bright sunshine</div>
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I don't remember whether I mentioned the fact that 'Squeaks' the lovely old Aylesbury duck must have died. She had been visiting less frequently and her feathers were looking very bedraggled plus she seemed to have damaged her leg so I guessed that she was nearing the end. When she appeared a couple of weeks ago looking worse than ever she seemed desperate and confused and I wondered whether to call Swan Rescue but decided that it would be too traumatic for her to be grabbed and removed from the river as she was a very old duck. She would also have missed her male entourage of three suitors. I was really upset to see her like that but I've learned that it's sometimes wiser to let Nature take its course. I never saw her again and hope she didn't suffer. At least she was with her mates and one in particular, a 'stretch-limo' of a hybrid duck, really seemed to look after her and stay by her side. I do miss her and the excitement she always expressed when she came for her wheat treats.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-90503033927629393912015-05-05T10:20:00.004-07:002015-05-05T10:29:14.403-07:00First ducklings <br />
Yesterday evening Lonely appeared with 10 ducklings. They are the first I have seen this year so it was exciting and I'm looking forward to when Flare Tail's ducklings hatch which should be in a few days.<br />
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Lonely's clutch of ten</div>
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Lonely appeared when the light was low so it was impossible to get a better image of her newly hatched brood. She is a nervous duck too, especially with her 'babies' in tow, so she turned tail as soon as I went out with the camera to grab a photo.</div>
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This morning she arrived with only eight ducklings and by 10.00am she was down to seven. I wonder how many she'll have by this evening!</div>
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The attrition rate is always high at this time of year but although I know this I am always sad at at the loss of so many new lives. The reality is, of course, that there would be far too many ducks on the river if most of the ducklings survived.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-61839776638465938792015-05-01T04:57:00.002-07:002015-05-01T04:57:23.659-07:00The mandarin ducks are multiplying!<br />
There seem to be more and more mandarin ducks on this stretch of water. Over the winter months they put on quite a cabaret for us at feeding time. We had as many as 17 pairs and a spare come to visit us every day and it was fascinating to observe the 'pecking order' when it came to which ones were the dominant ducks. Most of them like to feed from a small bowl on the table on the deck but in theory there is only room for three or four at the most. However, at times 7 or 8 would pile on top of each other, literally standing on each others' backs to get at the wheat. The ducks lower down in the 'pecking order' couldn't even get near the bowl and had to make do with feeding from the deck and even among those ones some were more subservient than others. <br />
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They don't get things all their own way, however, as two determined pigeons do their best to get to the wheat first. One of them swoops in and karate kicks the ducks and then bashes them with its wings! It has a powerful beak and generally succeeds in scaring the ducks although there are three or four mandarins that attack back and successfully defend their corner.<br />
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A male mandarin duck stretches its wings</div>
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Now, during nesting season, the mandarins arrive in the morning at various times, feed and fly back to the nests but in the evening they still turn up 'en masse' and are much more fun to watch than the evening news!</div>
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The grebe I saw with two youngsters was around yesterday but only had one with it. It is possible that the second baby grebe was with the other parent but there is a high attrition rate among grebes at this time of year.</div>
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The tufted ducks still hang around but none has shown signs of nesting as yet. I'm sure it won't be long before a pair tries out the spare nest box on the water.</div>
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A female tufted duck </div>
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This particular 'tuftie' has quite a large area of white just above its beak but most of them don't. She's been around for several years now so I recognise her as she has become used to used to us feeding her.</div>
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Flare Tail is still sitting on the nest, though she was driven off it the other day, probably by a rogue drake. The coots are also incubating their eggs still but I think there will be baby coots quite soon now.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-46999463806650794262015-04-26T06:05:00.002-07:002015-04-26T06:05:35.304-07:00Spring 2015 - early arrivals<br />
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It has been a beautiful warm and sunny April and both the garden birds and the waterfowl have been busy building nests and laying eggs. Two of the duck nesting boxes are occupied, one by Flare Tail and the other by coots, the same pair that adapted to nesting inside a duck box last year. Meanwhile the blackbirds have been raiding our bog garden for suitable material with which to line their nests.<br />
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I'm not expecting Flare Tail's ducklings to hatch until about 10th May but we may have baby coots a little sooner.<br />
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We were rather surprised to see that a pair of great crested grebes had two youngsters. Late last week I noticed them tucked away under the wings on mum's back while the male did its best to feed them. He finally managed to present a fish to the family but it looked rather large for one of the babies. After at least half a dozen attempts to swallow the fish one of the youngsters finally succeeded although it took some effort!<br />
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The parents present a fish to one of the babies</div>
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It was quite extraordinary to see just how patient and caring both parents were. Shortly afterwards the male dived again for more food and suddenly a rival grebe appeared from nowhere and attacked the mother and babies. She dived to escape, causing both youngsters to fall off her back. They surfaced close by while she led the attacker away from them. Fortunately she escaped and swam back to them calling franticly to her partner who soon drove off the rival.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-11587886837875178362014-08-17T02:38:00.000-07:002014-08-17T02:52:39.303-07:00Ducklings and baby tufted ducks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5BoSmT3DL8k?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Two tufted ducks fight over incubation rights</div>
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Just before we went on holiday we were able to capture this dispute between two female tufted ducks inside the nest box. Both had laid eggs in the box and both wanted to incubate the eggs but the dominant female drove off her rival.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Rival 'tuftie' waits patiently at the nest entrance</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">After sitting at the nest box entrance for a while she finally gave up and left the eggs to the occupant!</span></span></td></tr>
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Finally she is seen off</div>
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While we were on holiday we thought that we would miss hatching day but the female tufted duck was still sitting on some eggs when we got back. Some of the ducklings had already hatched on the Saturday evening and she introduced them to the river the next day with a little help from us as some were reluctant to leave the nest. She swam off with seven youngsters and we didn't see her or the babies for several weeks.<br />
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Mother 'tuftie' trying to keep up with her ducklings</div>
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When the ducklings took to the water a second female 'tuftie' was hanging around by the nest box and we guessed that she must have been the unlucky one.<br />
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Mum turns up with two remaining ducklings</div>
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After about 10 days we were delighted to see a female tufted duck with two youngsters. We think it was our girl because she spent time near the old nest box and wasn't phased by our presence.</div>
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Mother 'tuftie' with her two</div>
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The youngsters on the ramp of their old nest box</div>
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Mum stretches her wings</div>
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Baby dives for food</div>
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Mother and babies stayed with us for about an hour and we watched with delight as the babies dived for food and swam around close to their mum. Sadly we haven't seen her since and as the ducklings were so young it's possible that they didn't survive. </div>
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Mallard duckling</div>
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In spite of the fact that three mallards and a tufted duck all hatched ducklings using our nest boxes we saw no sign of any ducklings for weeks and had assumed that none had survived. To our surprise, last week, on the same day as the tufted duck brought her two babies back to visit us, another tufted duck arrived with four medium sized ducklings, a mallard turned up with two baby ducklings, another mallard arrived with eight (we think it's Flare Tail who hatched twelve ducklings in a nest box on our garden deck) and Lonely turned up with two youngsters.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-21410750430080187632014-07-21T01:10:00.001-07:002014-07-21T01:13:12.867-07:00More comings and goings in the duck world<br />
Last weekend we helped the mallard in nest box 1 launch her ducklings. She led them upstream and that's the last we saw of them. Once I'd cleaned out her box and placed fresh straw inside, a tufted duck, probably the one that has already laid some eggs in box 2, showed signs of interest in the box. We've seen her enter the box a few times now and on Friday an obvious nest scrape appeared. By Saturday, however, it had been flattened out and yesterday we were amazed to see Lonely, the black hybrid duck, lead 7 ducklings out of the box! She's been using it as a creche for her babies.<br />
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Four of Lonely's seven ducklings</div>
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We don't know where Lonely nested but she has been hanging around all day with her newly hatched ducklings. Originally she had been looking at one of our top deck boxes but obviously found somewhere that suited her secretive ways better.<br />
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It was amusing to watch her various attempts to lead her ducklings up box 1's plank during the day yesterday. She'd succeed in leading three into the box and the others would swim under the box and call out to her. Sometimes she even managed to persuade all seven up the plank but some would fall off and she'd have to come out of the nest box to encourage them to join her. As soon as she left the box to collect the recalcitrant ducklings those in the box would follow her out and the whole farce would start again. Eventually persistence paid off and all seven followed her into the box.<br />
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Lonely with her seven</div>
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She spent much of yesterday travelling up and down our stretch of the river and giving the ducklings regular rest breaks on either our large plank or inside the nest box. I hoped that she would use the box as a creche last night and we were delighted to see her lead all seven ducklings out of box 1 this morning.</div>
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A couple of minutes ago Dave heard a lot of splashing and quacking outside box 1 and saw Lonely attacking a female tufted duck. It would seem that Lonely and her ducklings were resting in the nest box and a female tufted duck tried to enter. She was soon seen off but is now hanging around again after Lonely decided to take her ducklings upstream. In fact, Dave's just told me that the tufty has just gone into box 1. We think she must be the tufted duck that has spent over an hour this morning sitting outside the entrance to box 2 staring at the occupant tufted duck. We're pretty sure that both tufted ducks have laid eggs in the same box, hence the appearance of two ducks in the same box on occasions.<br />
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Meanwhile, Flaretail surprised us by appearing with several ducklings out of the top deck nest box. When she felt it was time to launch the ducklings some of them refused to leave and she became very distressed. Eventually we placed the reluctant ducklings in a net and carried them down from upstairs to place them in the river. Flaretail headed off with all twelve ducklings and that's the last we saw of them, too! Only Lonely seems to have kept her ducklings in the area and, so far, kept all seven of them safe from predators.<br />
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Cute coots!</div>
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The two young coots are growing apace and spend most of their time with us. I couldn't resist this image of one of the youngsters tucked into the empty feed box.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-69345780971675209252014-07-17T01:33:00.002-07:002014-07-17T01:37:04.206-07:00Ducklings at lastWe've been monitoring nest box 1 using an internal camera and were delighted, at the weekend, to see signs of the ducklings starting to hatch. It usually takes about 24 hours before all the ducklings have hatched and are ready to be led to the water by the female mallard. Not all the ducklings are keen to take their first swim and it sometimes takes a fair amount of coaxing by 'mum' to get them to join her.<br />
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First one out</div>
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When the mother thinks it's time to 'launch' her brood she leaves the nest and quacks loudly at the ducklings in an effort to get them to follow her. Some are keen but others have to be persuaded and the longer the process takes the more fraught the mother duck becomes. With only one duckling prepared to join her our mum headed back to the nest box to persuade the rest of her brood. </div>
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Mother duck tries to persuade her other ducklings to join her</div>
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When only some of the ducklings are in the river the mother faces a dilemma. If she leaves those in the river and returns to the box the ducklings in the river may disperse and be lost. Meanwhile, because she can hear the babies inside the box emitting their high pitched calls to her, she won't abandon the remaining babies. While our mallard was still in the river with a single duckling, a tufted duck nesting in box 2, came out to see what all the fuss was about and attacked the duck and her duckling. The duckling dived and disappeared and the mother got even more distraught so we decided to lend a helping hand and lift the remaining ducklings out of their nest and place them in the river with their mum. </div>
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A reluctant duckling</div>
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One of the ducklings was still reluctant to leave its nest and tried to get back inside! We had to turn it around and persuade it to join its mum.<br />
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It's safer on mum's back</div>
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We were worried about the duckling that had been attacked but it soon rejoined its mother and decided to jump on her back for safety. I've never seen a duckling on its mother's back before although swans and grebes carry their young on their backs.</div>
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This is fun</div>
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The duckling seemed to enjoy the experience of a free ride on mum's back but was soon shrugged off.</div>
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The female tufted duck from box 2, the one that attacked the mallard and her duckling, has been having problems of her own. While we've been monitoring her box we were amazed to see another female tufty sneak in while she was away from the nest. When she returned she did her best to force the intruder from the box being careful not to damage the eggs. This has happened several times since then and we're a little confused as to which tufted duck is the original 'tenant'. We have a suspicion that another female has also being laying eggs in the same box, hence the attempt at a 'take over'.</div>
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This tufted duck has attitude</div>
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We think this must be our nesting tufted duck, the one that attacked the mallard. She is determined to defend her nest box and is aggressive towards any other duck in the vicinity of her home! She had a real go at the mandarin duck (above) when it tried to join her on the plank. They got into a furious fight and eventually the tufted duck drove off the mandarin duck. Usually mandarin ducks are the most aggressive but our tufty is definitely feisty.</div>
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Our tufty sees off the mandarin duck</div>
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Once the mallard in box 1 hatched her ducklings and led them off upstream I cleared out the nest debris and poured boiling water into the box to kill any mites. When the box had dried out I put fresh straw inside in the hope that our mallard would bring her young ducklings back to the box to use as a night time roosting place. We haven't seen her with any ducklings but this morning another female tufted duck was checking out box 1 and it's possible that we'll have another duck taking advantage of the box 1. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-4704497854525543912014-07-10T01:00:00.003-07:002014-07-10T01:06:08.025-07:00Musical nest boxes<br />
After the mallards had abandoned their nest, having had all the eggs predated, I tidied up the box and forgot about it for a few days. When I went to check it and add some more straw, in case the mallards decided to start nesting again, a tufted duck shot out of it as I lifted the lid. I'm not sure which of us was more taken aback! Inside were three eggs so the female tufty must have occupied the box the moment it was abandoned by the mallards. She had been hanging around both nest boxes for a long time and had already laid three eggs in this box several weeks before but had been 'kicked out' by the mallard. <br />
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Three 'tufty' eggs</div>
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The tufted duck has really had to defend her nest, however. Every day the mallard pair attempt to re-occupy the box and the tufted duck has to fight her corner. She hardly ever leaves the nest which means that the mallards aren't able to sneak back in during her absence. The image below shows the female mallard attempting to take back her old nest.<br />
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The mallard refuses to give up her nest box</div>
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Female tufted duck finds her nest occupied<br />
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On one occasion, during a brief absence from the nest, the tufted duck was unable to re-enter her nest box because the mallard had reclaimed it. The tufty squatted outside the entrance to the box looking miserable for a while and then swam off and 'sulked' with her partner on our 'chill out' plank.</div>
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The 'tufty' pair retire to the plank</div>
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Drake is driven from nest box by female 'tufty'</div>
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I don't think the mallards are really ready to start nesting again. Although they regularly try to reclaim their old nest they don't hang around for long. The female tufted duck was able to return to her nest after a while and, later in the day, drove away the mallard drake when he was unwise enough to put his head inside the nest box!<br />
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Female mallard refuses to abandon 'her' nest</div>
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Every day the mallards persist in checking out their old nest. They hang around for a while but are gradually getting used to the idea that the female tufted duck has no intention of relinquishing her new home. She is extremely feisty in the defence of her eggs!<br />
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Female 'tufty' takes a break for a snack</div>
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Male 'tufty' preparing to dive for wheat</div>
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Yesterday I saw the tufted duck behaving in a distressed manner and noticed that she had an egg in her beak and was carrying it away from the nest box. She appeared to be eating the contents of the egg. While she was off her nest I checked inside and saw yolk covering the bottom of the box. </div>
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When the tufted duck returned to her nest she spent over an hour clearing up the mess, moving straw around, carrying soggy straw away from the box and eating as much of the spilled yolk as possible. I had added some fresh straw while she was absent and she gradually used this to replace the mucky straw that she had thrown out.</div>
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Later that day I saw a crow about to raid the box so I guess that the crow must have broken one of the eggs as it tried to steal it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-71777642360657525412014-06-29T01:45:00.000-07:002014-06-29T01:47:13.035-07:00All gone!Yesterday our girl in box 2 once again had the nest raided and her last egg was taken. We don't know whether it's the work of a crow or magpie or whether the final egg was damaged during a skirmish inside the box with one of the rogue drakes. I do know that she carries off damaged eggs as I've seen her carry two away in her beak on one day.<br />
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We're very sad for her and her partner because they put up such a fight to defend their nest over the past few weeks. Neither seems to want to abandon the nest and we've watched them go back into the box on a regular basis but, when I looked inside this morning, there were no eggs. Even if she laid one it would disappear. It seems that box 2 is jinxed!<br />
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On a lighter note, Dave watched one of the red crested pochards as it rested on a nest box plank. It was sound asleep with its third eye up and its head gradually dropped down, closer and closer to the river until his beak hit the water and he woke up only to fall into a deep sleep again!<br />
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pochard asleep with his third eye closed</div>
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As his beak hit the water he suddenly woke up</div>
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He briefly lifted his head</div>
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In spite of a rude awakening when his beak touched the water he soon went back into a deep sleep and his head and neck fell backwards into the water again! He must have had a disturbed night!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-70568310401165525022014-06-27T01:10:00.003-07:002014-06-27T01:16:17.228-07:00What a surprise!Our mallard in box 2 was driven off her nest again yesterday so I looked to see how many eggs were left. When I lifted the lid from the box I was astonished to see the drake guarding the nest from the inside. I've never known a drake to take over nest duties before but, apparently, they occasionally swap places to give their partner a break!<br />
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Time for a drink . . .</div>
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. . . and some fresh air</div>
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It must be hot inside the nest box in this weather and our girl came out for a quick drink. While she was on the plank she was chased again by the rogue males but her partner remained inside the box to protect the nest. We can't work out what is happening to the eggs but there was only one left yesterday in spite of the drake's best efforts.<br />
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Drake takes over nest duties</div>
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The drake spends most of his time sitting right at the entrance to the nest box and occasionally, perhaps for a brief respite from the hot sun, with his head inside! </div>
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Time for our girl to get back on the nest</div>
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After a drink, a stretch of her wings and a quick wheat treat the mallard headed back to incubate her remaining egg. The drake was still inside the box which made it rather difficult for her and she waited for him to leave the box. He, however, had other ideas and, after a while, she somehow squeezed into the box with him! </div>
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Move over darling . . .</div>
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The drake finally emerges</div>
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As he emerged the drake slipped and slid down the plank. He now seems to enjoy using the plank as a slide. <br />
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When we went to bed last night the drake was standing guard at the nest entrance and was still there first thing this morning so we hope their one egg is safe. We're not sure whether the female is still able to lay an egg each day after all this time. It's rather touching to see how much effort the pair put in to protecting the nest and we really hope that they are rewarded by hatching at least one duckling!<br />
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The two teenage coots reunited</div>
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The teenage coots are becoming territorial and are attacking any duck that comes to feed from the plank. They're still young and are sometimes seen off by the more aggressive ducks but that doesn't stop them from protecting 'their' food source. One young coot is much bolder than the other but both flee when an adult coot appears.</div>
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We're not sure whether the female tufted duck is nesting in the bog garden and I'm reluctant to disturb her if she is. Her behaviour yesterday would indicate that she might well be protecting a nest, however. She suddenly attacked one of the male red crested pochards who was minding his own business and resting on our floating platform. They locked beaks and tugged at each other for quite a while until they ended up in the river and began chasing each other in circles, viciously using their wings as weapons. Tufted ducks are smaller than pochards so it surprised us that the female 'tuftie' had started the fight.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-79105055819264910832014-06-24T01:28:00.002-07:002014-06-24T02:04:43.381-07:00No peace for mallard in box 2The mallard in box 2 is being regularly attacked by a young drake, especially in the early hours of the morning. We were puzzled about this because her partner is spending most of his time on guard at the entrance to the nest. However, I discovered why on Saturday, after the female had been attacked and driven off her eggs at least five times in several hours. Her partner is scared of the younger drake and flies away initially when the youngster approaches! He then swims back and does his best to defend the female but by then it's too late.<br />
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Because the female refuses to desert her eggs she is attacked while 'sitting' and some of the eggs are damaged in the fray. On Friday I saw her fly from her nest with a damaged egg in her beak, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. When I looked inside the box she still only had three eggs. This means that an egg is damaged most days when she is raped in her box.<br />
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Young coot</div>
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Two young coots have suddenly turned up at our feeding station and lurk behind our neighbour's boat where it's dark and there's very little 'bird' activity. I wondered why their behaviour was so furtive as coots are aggressive birds. On Sunday evening I saw an adult coot next to one of the youngsters which had its head under water and wasn't moving. I realised that the adult, which immediately swam off, must have attacked the younger bird. On an impulse I lifted the young coot out of the river and felt its neck and checked for blood. After a few moments it started to breathe and then tried to lift its head but it flopped back down. I continued to hold the young bird and it gradually lifted its head and started to struggle a bit and when I put in back in the river it shot off and appeared to have recovered.</div>
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Only one youngster</div>
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The following day I was disappointed when only one young coot turned up for breakfast but a short while later there were two again. I think that the damaged coot is being extra cautious now and only appears when 'the coast is clear'.</div>
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Cygnet grows up</div>
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The cygnets are getting quite big now but will remain with their parents for a while longer. The mother brings them here at least three times a day and they are sometimes joined by the father .</div>
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I discovered another potential nest on Sunday when I saw a female tufted duck fly up onto our camp shedding and disappear into the thick bracken at the end of the bog garden. Her partner hung around until she reappeared. There's a tell tale stain on the camp shedding where a duck has left its calling card! I think she's on her nest at the moment because a lone male tufted duck is in the vicinity of the nest.</div>
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This morning a female tufted duck tried to enter both riverside nest boxes but was seen off by the resident mallards. It may be the same tuftie that has been checking out the bog garden but it could also be another female.</div>
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On a final note we discovered that the duck in the garden deck nest box is Flare Tail. I knew she was nesting again but hadn't realised it was her in the upstairs box. The magpies have finally abandoned their attempts to steal her eggs and the little black duck has given up trying to lay her eggs in the same nest box.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-91570316925826536422014-06-17T10:34:00.000-07:002014-06-17T11:02:15.570-07:00Another 'homeless' duck!It's been another week of predation in respect of mallard's eggs in box 2. A crow was brazenly stealing at least one a day until the mallard was left with only a couple of eggs. I thought she might give up at that point as there seemed little hope that she would succeed in protecting her eggs but the strangest thing has happened. She has been staying in her nest box for most of the day which is unusual as there are only a few eggs. The other odd thing is that her partner has been guarding the nest. This has meant that attacks by rogue drakes from 4.00am onwards have almost stopped so the crow no longer has a chance to remove any eggs as both ducks are around most of the time.<br />
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Mrs. mallard checking that the 'coast' was clear</div>
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Some drakes still attack Mrs. mallard when her partner takes a brief break and we do our best to see them off if we're around. On this occasion her partner was around to see them off and Mrs. mallard looked out to see what was happening. </div>
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Mrs. mallard's partner</div>
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Fortunately her partner spends most of the day guarding the box which is quite unusual. Normally drakes hang around for a while and then get bored and joins their chums! This drake's devotion to duty has protected the nest from predation by the crow and our girl now has 4 eggs.</div>
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Time for a rest and a chat with his mate</div>
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A hungry baby grebe</div>
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The grebes only have one youngster now. At least some of the pressure is off the parents to provide so many fish but neither adult is prepared to let the baby climb on its back any more.</div>
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A fish at last for the hungry youngster</div>
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Mandarin ducks on nest box 2 plank</div>
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The mandarins still spend time on the nest box planks and occasionally check out the boxes. This morning one of them tried to enter the other mallard's box (box 1) and was pecked for intruding. This mallard has now been sitting permanently for several weeks and is no longer being harassed by other ducks nor by the crow.</div>
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Lack of 'housing' has reared its head again this week. Upstairs on our garden deck there are two nest boxes and one was being used by a mallard and another duck. They were both laying an egg a day and we knew it would end in tears!</div>
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Unfortunately some magpies discovered the eggs and started stealing them. Over two days they took three eggs and we were beginning to think that the nest was doomed. We tried our best to deter the magpies by placing part of an old mop at the entrance but they persisted in raiding the nest. Predation has suddenly stopped, however, and we're not sure why. The mallard is now the sole occupant of the nest and won't allow Lonely, the black duck, to enter. Poor Lonely is now homeless and has nowhere to lay her eggs. She must have laid at least four before she was evicted!</div>
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Lonely hoping to enter the box</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">One morning, when we thought that the nest was empty, Dave put his hand in to count the eggs and got such a fright when a duck pecked his hand. The mallard is so well camouflaged inside the box that it is impossible to tell whether she is inside. </span></div>
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The straw you can see strewn on the ground around the box is because the magpies kept pulling the nest material out in their hunt for eggs. We would put it back and I'd add extra, to provide more cover for the eggs. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-78264304036765720202014-06-11T03:06:00.002-07:002014-06-11T03:06:36.650-07:00Ousted from both nest boxesThere has been another development concerning nest box 2. The female tufted duck waited until the mandarin duck left her plank the other day and then claimed back her nest box. Unfortunately, she has now been ousted by a female mallard who has commandeered the box and is laying her eggs in there. We think that the tufted duck laid at least one more egg inside the box while the mallard wasn't there but the mallard's partner is protecting the nest now and the 'tufty' isn't able to use it as far as we can tell. It's very sad for her because this is the second nest she has laid eggs in only to have a mallard take it over. We're wondering whether the mallard will hatch the tufted duck's eggs.<br />
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Our tufted ducks having a break from attempts to nest</div>
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The tufted duck sneaked back to her old nest</div>
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I haven't noticed whether the tufted duck has been hanging around her old nest any more but the mallard is now sitting for longer and longer periods on seven eggs. When we looked two days ago there were four small eggs and two slightly larger ones of a different hue. We assume that the mallard's eggs are the slightly larger ones.</div>
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Drake guarding the nest </div>
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It was so sad to see the tufted duck hanging around her nest while the drake blocked it. He regularly stands guard at the entrance to his partner's nest which is untypical. Although most drakes stay fairly close to their partners' nest sites they don't usually guard the nests so closely.</div>
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The nest yesterday</div>
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When I looked inside the box yesterday there were seven eggs but one had been rolled into a corner. The day before two eggs had been laid so we presume that both the mallard and the tufted duck had laid an egg each. Now, with the drake guarding the nest so closely, the tufted duck appears to have given up on her second nest. </div>
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Meanwhile the mandarin ducks still turn up and look in nest box 2 although I haven't seen the female enter either box for several days.</div>
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Mr. mandarin on our plank</div>
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The swans bring their two cygnets several times a day for some wheat. They've grown quite a lot since I last photographed them but they're still cute. While the swans are here even the greedy canada geese stay well clear of the adults.<br />
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The cygnets are growing</div>
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The weather has been rather lovely for the past few days and we took an evening boat trip as the sun was going down. The river is deliciously quiet at this time and the beautiful light on the water and some structures is delightful.</div>
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Hampton church at sunset</div>
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View upstream from under our bridge</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-34714586326621000562014-06-08T03:17:00.002-07:002014-06-08T03:35:13.111-07:00Nest box wars<br />
There's a housing shortage in London . . . for waterfowl! We've been watching in amazement as the mallard's chosen nest box is also a female tufted duck's preferred home and is attracting the attention of a pair of mandarin ducks, too.<br />
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Yesterday we saw the female 'tuftie' sit at the entrance to the nest while the mallard was inside incubating her eggs - she now has 9. The 'tuftie' lay down flat on the plank with her head looking inside the box which upset the mallard who suddenly leant forward and pecked at the tufted duck. The 'tuftie' fell off the plank into the river but made several more attempts to enter the preferred nest. Eventually she gave up and, reluctantly it seems, made use of the other nest box (box 2) to lay an egg. There are now three eggs in that box but we're not sure whether they all belong to the tufted duck. Yesterday a mandarin duck was eyeing up both boxes and her mate has been showing an interest in them both too!<br />
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Female mandarin duck on mallard's plank</div>
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We can't tell whether this is the same female that entered the mallard's nest box a couple of days ago and rolled all her eggs around before leaving. Yesterday evening, as we were returning from a trip out on our boat, we saw a female mandarin duck coming out of box 2. I should have checked to see whether another egg had been laid but I think it unlikely. However. I was surprised to see a male mandarin standing guard over the entrance to the box for several hours yesterday morning which prevented the 'tuftie' from using the box. When she (the female tufted duck) finally gave up on the mallard's box she had to wait until the male mandarin vacated the plank to her box. </div>
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Mrs. Mandy enjoying the evening sun on the mallard's ramp</div>
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Male mandarin duck in moult</div>
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Most of the male mandarin ducks are now in moult and looking rather sorry for themselves. Even the few males that still have their striking plumage have lost their magnificent russet 'sail' feathers although they still have their crests.</div>
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Our hybrid 'tuftard'</div>
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Our hybrid duck, a cross between a tufted duck and a red crested pochard, has been around for several years now and is more at home with us. He even comes to feed at the front of the house with the others and, for the first time, climbed on to the large floating platform outside our patio windows yesterday. Unfortunately some canada geese chased him off before I could take a picture of him grooming.</div>
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The grebe family</div>
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Our family of great crested grebes is growing and the youngsters seem too big to climb onto their parents' backs now. It's lovely to watch mum and dad feed them small fish. Apart from two cygnets and a few goslings on this stretch of the river, we've as yet seen no ducklings and no baby coots here. However, we saw several herring gulls further upstream and between them, the crows, the heron and the pike most young waterfowl don't stand a chance.</div>
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Girl in a kayak</div>
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It was a beautiful evening after the torrential downpours of the morning and river users made the most of the chance to get out in the warm sunlight. This is a view of Molesey Lock, where work to replace the weir sluices continues, hence the large red crane.</div>
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A view of Hampton village yesterday evening</div>
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It was such a lovely evening yesterday and we couldn't resist a boat trip. We never tire of the riverscape and all the lovely wildlife the area supports. Further upstream we saw four cygnets, more young grebes and a mature heron as well as the herring gulls.</div>
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And finally a comment on the behaviour of a young starling in the garden yesterday. While two adults were on the regular peanut feeders the youngster found that it could just get its head inside the opening to an alternative peanut feeder and extract whole peanuts. As we watched it successfully took out 6 or 7 peanuts with its beak but was then unable to eat them whole and so dropped every one of them. It didn't appear to have learned from its parents to peck at the regular feeders and take smaller portions. It might have finally succeeded, given time, but a parakeet flew onto the feeder and chased the young starling away.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-46471762530749178282014-06-04T03:31:00.002-07:002014-06-04T03:38:10.426-07:00While we were away . . .While we were away the ducklings hatched as did the coots and the blue tits fledged. When we got back there were no ducklings and no baby coots. In fact, the only 'ducklings' we've seen are mandarin babies. There were three with one mother and two with another but they have also disappeared. At least the swans still have two cygnets which seem to be doing well. As for the blue tits we can't tell how they fared. Some may have survived but it is impossible to identify which youngsters might be the ones from our nest box.<br />
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On the day we went away the parents spent most of the morning feeding the youngsters. Below are a few photos of their activities.<br />
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A tasty morsel for one of the chicks</div>
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Sunflower hearts went down well, too</div>
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I'm hungry . . . one of the babies gets impatient</div>
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Another mouth to feed</div>
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We hope that most of the young blue tits made it this year. Last year a neighbour's Bengal cat caught one of the chicks and I rescued another after it flew into the house! Unfortunately I saw the same cat sitting on our car in an attempt to get as close as possible to the fledglings in the nest. One false move by any one of them and the cat would get them. I moved the car to make life as difficult as possible for the cat but it's a demon hunter.</div>
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It's now five weeks since the ducklings and coots hatched and their nest boxes are occupied again. When we got back from holiday one of the mandarin ducks was using the coots' nest as a temporary shelter for her three youngsters. At the same time a tufted duck was checking out both boxes, as was a mallard.</div>
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Nothing much seemed to happen for a while but when I looked inside one of the boxes there were two small eggs in it. We watched more closely and noticed a tufted duck going into the box on a regular basis. However we also spotted a mallard using the same box. She has taken it over now and is sitting full time so there are likely to be at least seven eggs. </div>
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Below are two screen grabs taken by the nest camera which is connected to our TV set.</div>
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Mrs. tufty rolling the eggs</div>
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Mrs. mallard is now in residence</div>
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As I'm writing this I am watching the female mallard sitting in the nest box via a camera linked to our television. We haven't counted the number of eggs yet as she spends most of her time on the nest now. However, while she was taking a break for food and a wing stretch yesterday I glanced at the TV and got quite a shock. A female mandarin duck was inside and was carefully rolling all the eggs! Her partner was standing at the entrance to the box as if to guard it. I have no idea why a mandarin duck would roll another duck's eggs. </div>
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Meanwhile, the tufted duck is still trying to use the same box and has ignored the coots' nest box up till now. Perhaps I need to clean it out again since it was used by the mandarin and her three babies for about a week. I need to get more straw, too, once it's been cleaned. I never cease to be surprised at how creatures adapt to our urban world. It's most unusual for a coot to build a nest inside a box. It equally improbable that a female mandarin duck would roll a mallard female's eggs. Mandarins nest in trees but I'm just wondering whether next year a mandarin duck might change the habits of a lifetime and use one of our boxes to raise her young.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-6961039028535373692014-05-01T03:55:00.001-07:002014-05-01T04:01:05.816-07:00Update on the pochards and cootsTwo of the male red crested pochards spend most of their days resting on our plank or diving for wheat. We only see the female and a male pochard once a day, after dark, when they come to be fed. She is very secretive, probably because she was regularly attacked by the spare males a couple of weeks ago.<br />
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One of the male pochards having a rest</div>
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The coots are behaving remarkably well this year. There seems to be no competition for nesting space so there are fewer fights. Coots are querulous creatures and often get tetchy with each other but our pair haven't had many 'domestics' this season so far.<br />
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One of the coots guarding the nest box</div>
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Whenever either coot hears the patio door open or sees us on the deck they rush back to their nest to defend it from us. This one is keeping a beady eye on me because it saw me open the door. Once it had decided that I wasn't up to mischief it relaxed and climbed into the nest box.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXSCJnjiwIOxdNJNY4FDZl45hrz_YOnnKC_SELTz8Af6vNWBa7DQwv9QioUhz_2EhluU-KPGmU_utN776VTPI9F7-GulBGxWQaNdDlhO3kq3d2OR6GTQKznWQPFG_eiJtLCCH1QhR6PBW/s1600/Coot+entering+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXSCJnjiwIOxdNJNY4FDZl45hrz_YOnnKC_SELTz8Af6vNWBa7DQwv9QioUhz_2EhluU-KPGmU_utN776VTPI9F7-GulBGxWQaNdDlhO3kq3d2OR6GTQKznWQPFG_eiJtLCCH1QhR6PBW/s1600/Coot+entering+box.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></div>
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Coot entering the box</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-20161407263111605202014-04-27T08:45:00.001-07:002014-04-27T08:50:46.542-07:00More and more mandarin malesThe number of mandarin male ducks visiting the feeding station has increased this week. At least four are regulars at one time and the old boy whose plumage is past its best spends a lot of time here. A pair of mandarin ducks also visit every evening and as soon as the other males spot the female they are after her like fighter aircraft. She usually has to make a fair few attempts to feed before she is able to do so without being hassled.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBzczO_o0XBF4tpC2bMlG7RZXGNep9Vv9AZJtus3hM5ATCyZLUI0USiTmtiQrJ9GFRzD31MQnfCf_5Y7ngs_n1si4VrqexSN7md0tC_tXirxB_d4cNKT3Qm3dGMHfOD0-G7iXXTRltIyi/s1600/Flying+mandy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBzczO_o0XBF4tpC2bMlG7RZXGNep9Vv9AZJtus3hM5ATCyZLUI0USiTmtiQrJ9GFRzD31MQnfCf_5Y7ngs_n1si4VrqexSN7md0tC_tXirxB_d4cNKT3Qm3dGMHfOD0-G7iXXTRltIyi/s1600/Flying+mandy.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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The old mandy sees off a rival from his favourite feeding spot</div>
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The boys spend several hours loitering on our boat and on the plank below, feeding on occasions, sometimes flying off for a while and then returning for more food and male company. I assume that none of the lone males has a partner since only one female ever turns up with her chosen mate.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoCgfSLUGqBFqXXTDoke3wsSgFh_Yqu7LcrZEjt2ACI8iHiGM0Pclh0zy4CKq46PXOFv8r1T2l7KzJsBCJTRny4u-7awX7i-X8v9o901LV_0GOOLx3dk4KXjCxvRYkC4tiDUSud4XFJVu/s1600/mandy+on+engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoCgfSLUGqBFqXXTDoke3wsSgFh_Yqu7LcrZEjt2ACI8iHiGM0Pclh0zy4CKq46PXOFv8r1T2l7KzJsBCJTRny4u-7awX7i-X8v9o901LV_0GOOLx3dk4KXjCxvRYkC4tiDUSud4XFJVu/s1600/mandy+on+engine.jpg" height="201" width="320" /></a></div>
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A fine figure of a male but he's without a partner</div>
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The swans have continued to chase each other and there are frequent noisy chases as the weaker swans do their best to escape the dominant male. So far we haven't seen any fatal battles, I'm relieved to report. It's so distressing watching one swan drown another and we always do our best to intervene but it isn't always possible.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCTMrf_0ZDJhrM9PCnZUhQgYYXS9jYeVEfwUVu2EiZprne4IbTG9_0U8kVUeU1mKY6lurTIhYlg3g3KMNDtsnB2zjXoBtTAu5SpwMRhZztQVeBIIt062kHPLypzcAfJCdx4VjxdrrHime/s1600/Swans+chasing+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCTMrf_0ZDJhrM9PCnZUhQgYYXS9jYeVEfwUVu2EiZprne4IbTG9_0U8kVUeU1mKY6lurTIhYlg3g3KMNDtsnB2zjXoBtTAu5SpwMRhZztQVeBIIt062kHPLypzcAfJCdx4VjxdrrHime/s1600/Swans+chasing+1.jpg" height="157" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another day, another chase</div>
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Yesterday we went to 'celebrate the life' of Colin Hunter, a lovely, much admired and respected friend who died last year . His family held the party in his honour at Garrick's Temple and lawn, just upstream from us, and many of his friends turned up to remember him and pay tribute to his memory. Though this image is not of local wildlife, Colin cared about the environment and was very fond of animals, especially his pet dogs and birds both here and in more exotic parts of the world. The Temple, pictured below, lies between Colin's former home and our island.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcesxF4PYRBj1HO1_773RNCH1uJ8uTbxsA4kq0HpGnRMuU-MPq_OFJ95clx6M9-BLQHPVxaRbb-GmAbnrBXU0D2QQibNZgtq-kQiGGS43bWsXRTH30rL5QVwQ2FF7zVqfvvIfvKmShtOV1/s1600/temple+party+for+Colin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcesxF4PYRBj1HO1_773RNCH1uJ8uTbxsA4kq0HpGnRMuU-MPq_OFJ95clx6M9-BLQHPVxaRbb-GmAbnrBXU0D2QQibNZgtq-kQiGGS43bWsXRTH30rL5QVwQ2FF7zVqfvvIfvKmShtOV1/s1600/temple+party+for+Colin.jpg" height="189" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some of the many friends & family inside Garrick's Temple</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-32951957830945079522014-04-24T12:00:00.003-07:002014-04-24T12:03:05.979-07:00New visitorThis goose is a newcomer to our stretch of the river. It is people friendly and soon made itself at home for a day. It arrived yesterday and was happy to join us for feeding time and was on our plank this morning but has been absent all day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJ9vdyHYe1qS00zy6tnhOc5cpxpJ7XBn8b51Cz5p-FIj6AjnBopXZOiFASbTr9MG_ya1NYv-Oia6XueIli0SREC9mhAsuU6FQiaHVmh1m7O9UjLpOhbxQW6082eBlJeC4-UNLw6RSztx1/s1600/new+goose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJ9vdyHYe1qS00zy6tnhOc5cpxpJ7XBn8b51Cz5p-FIj6AjnBopXZOiFASbTr9MG_ya1NYv-Oia6XueIli0SREC9mhAsuU6FQiaHVmh1m7O9UjLpOhbxQW6082eBlJeC4-UNLw6RSztx1/s1600/new+goose.jpg" height="183" width="320" /></a></div>
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New goose on the block</div>
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Flare Tail is being driven off her nest much more frequently these days - the shirt's no longer working as a 'scarecrow'. However she seems to be coping and, during daylight hours, is able to get some wheat and a 'wash and brush up'.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcx75jenC6HhitRFwtZvjYHACJmBgqebiYvJghUj7AFTebKvQDCDR8gXswDuVOHY1fPWDLGG9cRcvK2cjgm1fDKIsjhm0x2IQQmY2msG9ce9p05bEiAP7XrfMTSGybttSw_d8KYQkfXL0A/s1600/new+goose+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcx75jenC6HhitRFwtZvjYHACJmBgqebiYvJghUj7AFTebKvQDCDR8gXswDuVOHY1fPWDLGG9cRcvK2cjgm1fDKIsjhm0x2IQQmY2msG9ce9p05bEiAP7XrfMTSGybttSw_d8KYQkfXL0A/s1600/new+goose+1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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Flare Tail being seen off her nest</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474811920919020474.post-37477864182664074572014-04-20T09:48:00.000-07:002014-04-20T09:58:40.364-07:00A regular visitor to the gardenThe jays are frequenting the bird table and helping themselves to the peanuts. They grab four or five at a time, seeming to store them in their beaks before flying off. Sometimes one of them stops to feed itself but I assume they must have hungry youngsters to feed. <br />
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Magpies are also spending a lot of time in the garden and they always chase off the jays. They're very adept at finding food, even when I've placed it somewhere I think they would prefer to avoid. Unfortunately they are also very observant and spot where smaller garden birds are nesting. I've seen them perch on nest boxes and steal the baby birds from their nests.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSW1FmkALbdlphYMw0E8TBD-JuTBde4x3kwwwQuIfNncWrkIK3SL2KbbNYACi9mYTEeFoutbOBnS4irQzK1hn7KOix-z0IxzuSPJj4yqJ3cJSLrwg3ikNMCbDPuyacz2m6H7ywsvgVnWT/s1600/Jay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSW1FmkALbdlphYMw0E8TBD-JuTBde4x3kwwwQuIfNncWrkIK3SL2KbbNYACi9mYTEeFoutbOBnS4irQzK1hn7KOix-z0IxzuSPJj4yqJ3cJSLrwg3ikNMCbDPuyacz2m6H7ywsvgVnWT/s1600/Jay.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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A jay about to raid the bird table</div>
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Although the swan fights have decreased in number they are no less ferocious. When the dominant swan decides to chase off its rivals the sound of his wing beats and the raw power in his take offs is impressive.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUq1D0-EZVbx5LodQ2c6t-n5lwMB61RqjRvXnXCqGXef7GTdemuFhFNCbuzDldb5YoR9yD-q350AhexD-mAqL6NQNk4QVI2zQi-WSvM0AbcEsDN9y0nLX3UImf2xNqzdF18QNNWm70TosC/s1600/Swans+chasing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUq1D0-EZVbx5LodQ2c6t-n5lwMB61RqjRvXnXCqGXef7GTdemuFhFNCbuzDldb5YoR9yD-q350AhexD-mAqL6NQNk4QVI2zQi-WSvM0AbcEsDN9y0nLX3UImf2xNqzdF18QNNWm70TosC/s1600/Swans+chasing.jpg" height="144" width="320" /></a></div>
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A recent swan chase</div>
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The attacks on Flare Tail have also decreased and she is now left alone for hours at a time during the day. Unfortunately the night time attacks are still regular, especially from 4.00am onwards, but at least she is able to incubate her eggs for hours at a time.</div>
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If she is chased off the nest during the day she sometimes takes the opportunity to do some 'pond dipping', grubbing around for water snails and the like in the silt. She loves the pond and spends quite a while in it when she gets the chance. If I see her there I put some wheat out at the feeding station for her and she and her partner come running down the rill to be fed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2BPBSbxdGy4z3nxNB1MKHjijfufTKolg2lKquDh6sJavovth0F9_wm40T5-SKkPgvSU_V0EglkugTLPajEkVUXfNjzPl1ygvEMRU-1fAv539w6YHLfhspRSMlvGXiWBn6ygWipXb5kxP/s1600/Flare+Tail+at+pond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2BPBSbxdGy4z3nxNB1MKHjijfufTKolg2lKquDh6sJavovth0F9_wm40T5-SKkPgvSU_V0EglkugTLPajEkVUXfNjzPl1ygvEMRU-1fAv539w6YHLfhspRSMlvGXiWBn6ygWipXb5kxP/s1600/Flare+Tail+at+pond.jpg" height="320" width="276" /></a></div>
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Flare Tail heading down the rill for some wheat</div>
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If she's lucky and there are no stray drakes hanging around she sometimes enjoys the luxury of a long preen on the plank before heading back to the nest.</div>
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Duck yoga</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0