Mystery of the disappearing eggs

Lovely evening light

We've had some wonderful sunsets recently and the days have been surprisingly bright. Temperatures, however, fluctuate dramatically. One day we can sit in the garden enjoying the warm sunshine, the next, we have to wrap up against the chill wind.

Male pochard duck

A pair of pochards have 'taken up residence' in the area and they are very tame. They visit regularly to feed and make no bones about their feelings of superiority, seeing off any mallard that tries to share the food. Some drakes are brave enough to take them on, but usually the pochards reign supreme . . . until the coots arrive!

Robin with nesting material

A pair of robins have been keeping me company while I tend the garden and they decided to nest in our shed. We were a little concerned but left the window open to allow them access even though it was not an ideal situation. The next day I was watching the shed to check whether the robins were definitely nesting there and saw a robin disappearing, with a beakful of leaves, into the recesses of a folded tarpaulin close to the shed. This was decidedly unsafe as a potential nesting site and I commented to Dave on how ironic it was that they had ignored a nest box close by. He moved the box, placing it next to the tarpaulin, and made the entrance wider. We had hardly turned our backs when the robins took it over and within a day had completed their nest.

Great crested grebe with fish

There are times when grebes catch fish that are just too big but this one was not allowed to get away and I watched the grebe manoeuvre it into position before swallowing it.

Male mandarin duck investigating mallard's nest

What is it about this particular nest box? Last month, the mallard that now occupies this nest tried to take over Goldeneye's box on the top deck. She finally decided on this one at water level but is constantly pestered by other ducks hoping to occupy it. There is an identical box a few feet away which they all investigate but for some reason this box is the 'des res'. Every evening for several weeks, before Mrs. Speckles began to sit on her eggs full time, the male mandarin wandered in and out of both nest boxes and tried to tempt his partner to take one over. It was so funny to watch. He seemed keener than her but occasionally they would both squeeze into one or other of the boxes. The hybrid female duck we call Lonely also regularly went in and out of the boxes as did Silverduck. Finally, Mrs. Speckles spent more time in situ, sitting on 10 eggs and she would huff at any 'would be' intruders in an attempt to protect her property. One morning we heard a commotion, the sound of a female mallard in distress, and we were just in time to see Mrs. Speckles being chased from her nest by a drake. The approach plank was splattered with egg yolk! I looked inside the nest while she was still away and she had only nine eggs. As the days went by she had fewer eggs in the nest and tell tale signs of egg yolk on the plank. Then Dave saw her fly off with part of an egg in her beak. At first we thought that a crow or magpie was stealing the eggs but we started to watch the nest more carefully and realised that Mrs. Speckles was being attacked by a drake while sitting on her eggs. Inevitbaly some eggs got damaged and she had to dispense of them. Now she has only three and is still being attacked daily but she has learned new tactics. As soon as the male approaches she flies off the nest and, so far, has managed to save her remaining eggs over five days. Meanwhile, Silverduck (a pretty white hybrid female) and several drakes continue to harass Mrs. Speckles on her nest. Nature can be so cruel.

One of the mandarin ducks whose partner is now nesting nearby

Our pond showing signs of spring

I placed two waterlilies in the pond in early March as there had been no ducks or coots visiting it to damage the plants. I should have known better! Four days after planting, the ducks decided to see what was edible and I looked out one morning to see one of the lovely waterlilies floating at the surface and about to disappear down the cascade into the river. The other had been eaten. I shall have to find a way of protecting the plants from the ducks. At least Thunderthighs, the coot, isn't chomping his way through every green shoot. He's still alive but daren't venture into the dominant coots' territory. The garden birds, meanwhile, love bathing in the shallow areas and drinking at the pond. They are lovely to watch and their behaviour can sometimes be quite comical.

Florimania comes to Hampton Court Palace

Spring is a lovely time to visit Hampton Court Palace. There are delightful displays of flowers inside the palace during Florimania week and the wilderness gardens, close to the maze, are always stunning at this time of year. We're lucky to have such a magnificent historic building with its beautiful parks and gardens on our doorstep.

An aspect of the wilderness garden at the palace

Squatters Rights And Territorial Fights

Mute swans mating

The dominant mute swans have been patrolling their territory more regularly in the last few weeks, driving off any rivals with determination. They had just seen off a male intruder (tagged JKC) and were rather pleased with themselves. After displaying for a while with their beautiful synchronised 'wash and groom' routine they mated.

The female growled just like a cat in a fight as they reared up

An exuberant show of mutual affection

Bidou believes she's a mute swan

When the male mute swan, JKC, turned up earlier this week Bidou did her best to flirt with him. Unfortunately for her, he showed no interest and continued to eat his breakfast. She kept calling gently and sidling up to him cautiously, but to no avail.

Whenever swans fly overhead she calls out to them, her neck stretched to its full length, but she still insists in driving off any black swans that might visit. A neighbour downstream sent an image of Bidou mating with the dominant mute swan earlier in the week, so she's still hoping to win him over. I don't think his partner will take to kindly to such behaviour! I was concerned for Bidou on Friday when it appeared that she was being attacked by, rather than mating with, a mute swan. She certainly seemed distressed and was trying to escape. She might be nesting on a tiny island inside the lagoon on Taggs Island. Whether the nest is of her making or has been 'assembled' by optimistic islanders, I'm not sure.

A pintail visited with some mallards for 10 minutes

I managed to grab this shot through the patio doors when I spotted this pintail. We don't normally see them here. Sadly, it didn't stay long and hasn't been back since.

Which duck will claim the nestbox?

In the past nine days the ducks have started staking their claims for nest sites. Golden Eye (emerging from the box) has nested on our garden deck for at least four years and, until now, was 'queen' duck. This year, however, a younger mallard (Mrs. Speckles) and her partner are attempting to usurp her territory, and Gobi (Golden Eye's partner) isn't as young and fit as he used to be. There are regular stand-offs between the four of them, although Golden Eye seems to get on ok with Mrs. Speckles and Gobi with Mr. Speckles. Mrs. Speckles loves to perch on top of the box or on the railing above, while Golden Eye and Gobi prefer to sit side by side next to whichever box Golden Eye favours on the day. It can't be long before she decides on her nest and starts to lay eggs. For the last two days, Golden Eye and Gobi are spending most of the day kipping on our garden deck. Perhaps ducks, too, have squatters rights?! Whatever happens, we can look forward to weeks of ducks thundering along our flat roof doing 'touch and goes' as they chase each other away from their chosen sites.

A triumph of optimism over experience

No doubt she'll learn, but this coot is trying to build a nest on our normally very busy feeding plank. How she is able to lift such a huge stick amazes me. Once coots start to build, the messy nest soon takes shape but this is hopeless as a platform. Every time a boat goes by the twigs are washed away. This pair of coots are taking their territory VERY seriously and are vicious when seeing off intruders. Poor old Thunder Thighs daren't come here any more and is 'confined to barracks' two doors down from us by River Dream. A young male coot had also started to visit regularly but has been driven off completely now.

Taking a chance

This young coot had been risking life and limb to come and feed here but has finally been driven off. It never attacked Thunder Thighs when it came on to the deck, but recognised danger when any other coot appeared and would vanish at the speed of light. I'm pretty sure it survived but has been driven away from the area by the two pairs of rival coots.

Italy and home again

Snowy egret on Lago Varano

We had a wonderful month in Puglia over Christmas and the New Year but I did miss being surrounded by wildlife. We thought we would see plenty of waterfowl and general birdlife on the shores of Lago Varano and in the Foresta Umbra, but I saw virtually nothing until our last day. It was a beautiful day so we had a picnic at the water's edge in the hamlet of Bagno. When we arrived there were several little grebes close to the shore but no sooner had we walked over to photograph them than a noisy family appeared and frightened the dabchicks off. At least we saw a heron, several egrets, some cormorants and three mallards, as well as a collection of coots in the distance.

Geese hurrying past some local dogs

While we were relaxing in the warm sunshine some geese appeared and were given a hard time by a couple of local dogs. The geese tried to defend themselves then thought better of it and ran past the dogs.

Safe at last

The geese finally made it to the safety of the lagoon and the dogs turned their attention to a cat which refused to be intimidated by them, flattening its ears and spitting at them till they left it alone.

During our month in Peschici we also spent time in the beautiful Foresta Umbra. The forest was deserted most of the time, except on the days when it snowed, and the silence was profound. In fact, aside from the drumming of a woodpecker, the call of a blackbird and the chattering of some chaffinches, there was no sound at all. We had expected to see plenty of birdlife there but, apart from the birds mentioned and the appearance of an impressive buzzard, we saw no other wildlife. Ironically, on the last day of our holiday, as we drove from Langres to Calais, I saw more wildlife than on any other day. The sky was an icey blue, the temperature a bitter - 13 degrees at 9.00am, and the countryside was shrouded with snow as we set off for the last leg of the drive home. A fox trotted warily across a field as we dropped down into the valley outside Langres, there were buzzards at regular intervals both on the back roads and at the sides of the motorways, and I spotted deer in the fields on three occasions during the drive. I also saw a huddle of seven or eight herons, all hunched up against the cold, close to the edge of the motorway. After six weeks away, with very little wildlife, we were really pleased to see our swans, ducks, coots and grebes again.

The swans are still fighting over territory

The battle continues

Time to see off the trespasser

I nearly had to duck when this one headed off his rival close to where I was standing

Thunder Thighs is still alive

Thanks to Claudia, who volunteered to feed the ducks and garden birds for us while we were away, our 'regulars' weren't left to starve. As the weather was so extremely cold in UK for most of our time in Italy, we were really glad to know that they were being looked after. Claudia emailed us to say that the old coot (Thunder Thighs) had disappeared, but fortunately he turned up again a few days later. It didn't take the 'usual suspects' long to get back into the habit of demanding food more than twice a day! We had several chats with friends from the island while we were away, and were told that the ducks had come 'mob-handed' into the lagoon to 'beg' for more food in our absence! They get spoilt when we're here.

Blackbird having a quick wash in the pond

The weather has been mostly wet and dull since we've been back, so it's been difficult to take decent photographs. I grabbed this shot through the kitchen window one rainy day.

A poorly parakeet

This parakeet must have been quite unwell as it spent several hours asleep on our bird table, and then perched inside the window feeder and nodded off there too. I hope it recovered. There were no signs of a corpse the next day!

London and Italy

Cob on patrol

Most of the territorial battles between the rival mute swan pairs seem to take place in the early morning. This cob only stopped briefly for his wheat 'fix' before heading back to the main stretch of the river to see off any opponents foolish enough to head in his direction.

A frosty start for the rowers

We've had some fabulous sunny mornings and the river looks beautiful in the early golden mists. This particular morning about 7 or 8 crews took to the water for training.

Parakeet waiting for its turn at the peanuts

During these chilly mornings the parakeets have arrived in force to warm up in the sunlight and grab some nutritious peanuts and sunflower hearts for breakfast. They often squabble and are quite vicious with each other but they are no match for a visiting greater spotted woodpecker. When he's there they have to wait their turn!

One of the more colourful sunsets of late

These bright, cold days are so beautiful. I'd far rather have chilly nights and mornings accompanied by brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies throughout the day. The heavy grey overcast skies are so gloomy.

A view from the Foresta Umbra in Puglia

We've deserted the daily dose of doom and gloom that greets us every morning on the Radio 4 Today programme and every evening on BBC TV and Channel 4 TV news. We're also tired of seeing Christmas items which have been on the shelves in the UK supermarkets since September. So we've decided to spend a while in Italy where, we hope, Christmas may be less commercial. We left a very sunny England only to encounter driving snow for two and a half days before we were far enough south for the snow to turn to rain. The storms have now passed and we're enjoying sunshine, warmer temperatures, wonderfully fresh food bought daily, and the friendliness of the lovely Italian people.

Peschici

A view of the lovely town of Peschici, where we are staying, which is on the Gargano Peninsular.
The people are very kind and friendly here and the house where we are staying is lovely, with wonderful views down over the marina. At this time of year all is 'tranquilo' but I should imagine that summers here will be chaotically busy. The beaches are beautiful and it's lovely to walk in the warm sunshine along the sandy bays and listen to the soothing sound of the sea lapping the shoreline.

A trabucco

This is one of the old structures from which fishing nets are lowered into the sea. There are plenty of them along this long stretch of coastline although not all are in use these days.

Fishing boat in late afternoon sunshine

Yessterday was a beautifully sunny day so we drove out to a nearby lagoon which is a haven for wildlife. From a distance we saw what looked like little grebes, and there were plenty of cormorants and gulls. The lagoon is supposed to attract flamingoes in winter but we haven't seen any so it may be too early in the season.

A quiet time on the river

Fox on the prowl

It's been fairly quiet on the river over the last few weeks so I spent a little time in the nearby park. This handsome individual hardly spared me a glance, so intent was it on tracking a shrew or field mouse. Later I saw it pounce and run off with the tiny rodent in its mouth.

We had the unexpected pleasure of admiring a Kingfisher that decided to pose for us on our mooring posts, not once but twice. It's a breathtakingly beautiful bird and surprisingly small. I also had the pleasure of watching a single Goldfinch drink from the pond before feasting on a Fenell plant that's gone to seed. It spent some time wondering around the pond area and then rested on the top step for a serious drink. A few days later, a Grey Wagtail turned up and today I saw a Song Thrush scavenging in the garden for the first time in a while. Since my husband Dave picked the last of the delicious grapes, the Blackbird and Robin have been feasting on the remaining few we left for them. They've had more than their fair share, as usual, but who's counting? This year we had yet another bumper crop.

Swan patrol

It's hard work being the dominant swan. There are too many interlopers and they need to be seen off! This swan had just called round for breakfast but then noticed that it wasn't the only swan on the block. Spring isn't too far away and territory needs to be protected!

The offending pair also heading for breakfast

The guilty pair are heading here for their wheat fix. They were soon seen off by their rival but called around later for brunch.

It's bonfire night again

We had another great bonfire night on the island. The residents met up and brought their friends along to enjoy the spectacle. The weather was reasonably kind and we had dry weather for building and lighting the fire, socialising, setting off the fireworks and tucking into some food and drink, but shortly afterwards rain stopped play, and many of us headed home with friends to enjoy the rest of the evening in the dry and the warmth of home.

Training time

Whatever the weather, rowers at Molesey boat club turn up for training. This was one of the more atmospheric mornings in recent days. The club has a proud reputation and some of the Olympic rowers train here.

Single skullers enjoy an early morning warm up

An Egyptian goose

A grey heron in Bushy Park

There's obviously more to a heron's diet than fish. This one seems to spend a lot of time looking for insects in the grass But are there any at this time of year? Obviously the heron knows best.

Fire consumes Garrick's Villa

Several weeks ago Garrick's Villa suffered massive fire damage. It would seem that the fire started accidentally but soon took hold because of blustery conditions. Many firefighters did their best to contain the damage but were unable to put out the fire before it had damaged much of the building. No-one died but nonetheless those living in Garrick's Villa, a beautiful listed building, have suffered huge loss and great trauma. Some poor residents have lost everything they own.

Duck nesting boxes in demand

A sunny afternoon in Hampton

At last we've had some sunshine to brighten up the end of a dull and damp summer. We've managed to take the boat upstream on a regular basis and I've been able to pick up the camera with a degree of enthusiasm. Wildlife looks so dull when the weather's overcast, unless something spectacular is happening.

A quick stretch after breakfast

The swans have been aggressively patrolling their territory, these last few weeks, seeing off any of this year's cygnets as well as any other intruding swans. Even Bidou, the black swan, has been severely attacked. One morning I watched with horror as she was pushed completely under water and wasn't allowed to surface. Three times she escaped, only to be forced under again. Finally, the action came close enough for me to be able to distract the attacking swan and Bidou made good her escape.

Oh dear, I'd better get the hell out of here!

This was one of many occasions when the dominant swans took exception to another swan on their patch. I've seen some fantastic chases, especially yesterday, when I watched amazed, as an intruding swan was grabbed by its tail feathers mid flight and nearly forced down into the river. Luckily it shed a few feathers, slowed a little, but then continued on its way.

Another day, another dispute!

A misty morning did nothing to dampen the desire for battle in the dominant swans. Here they are chasing off a pair that used to control this area but lost the territory several years ago.

More intruders appear on the scene

A little later during the same morning a powerful young swan, one of this year's brood, had the temerity to call by for some food. In spite of the fact that this youngster still has some grey feathers it shows signs of being able to stand up for itself and may even take over control in a year or so. On this occasion, however, it was wise enough to retreat at the sign of the two adults bearing down on it.

This means business!

When a swan adopts this pose subordinate swans need to take heed. It's quite a sight to see a dominant swan powering through the water towards its intended victim. If the battles are this powerful now, I dread to think what they'll be like in the Spring.

Thunder Thighs with his dodgy toes, arthritic legs and battered appearance

Coots aren't my favourite water birds, especially after watching the upstream pair kill Goldeneye's remaining duckling this summer. They are querulous and vicious in the extreme towards each other, even attacking their own young, but they can also be dedicated parents and amazing nest builders. As the weather has chilled down at night it takes Thunder Thighs longer to warm up in the mornings and his balance is quite wobbly first thing. He has become quite dependent on us for food (he loves wheat, sunflower hearts and peanuts as well as a few garden grapes) and we regularly have to protect him from a pair of aggressive young coots that object to his presence even though he poses no threat to them.

Staking a claim for next year's nest box

We can't make out what's going on in the duck world but our waterside nesting boxes are in huge demand. A while back we were surprised to see Gobi coming out of Topsider 1 (Golden Eye's favourite nesting site last year). Normally the males don't go inside the boxes at this time of year. Since then, we've been unable to keep up with the interest shown in the two boxes by dozens of ducks. Silver duck, Snake duck and the new Lonely, have all staked a claim with their partners, wandering in and out of the nest boxes and guarding the planks in an attempt to drive off rival interest. The problem is, we only have room for two boxes at water level, but they are proving incredibly popular. So Barney (a neighbour), please place your order for nest boxes now to give the ducks time to discover them and stake their claims for the Spring! If you have even half the fun we've had from ours, you'll be more than delighted.

Proud Bidou

In spite of several brutal attacks, Bidou still manages to look proud and pristine some of the time. She continues to mope around and we wonder why she doesn't fly off to look for a mate. Last week, when we went up to Sunbury Lock, we saw another black swan but we don't know whether it's male or female. It would be wonderful to see Bidou find a mate - who knows what the Spring will bring?

Stag defending his harem

It's that time of year again, when stags battle it out for dominance of the does(female deer). They sound like lovelorn cows as they posture to impress the does, seeing off any rogue stags that try to mate with one of their harem. This one was somewhat half-hearted about it all, but it was an unusually warm afternoon for October, and maybe he just wanted a nap to revive his stamina!

Great Crested Grebe

I love to watch the grebes at rest, they look so relaxed and snug, with their fine feathers keeping them warm. This grebe spends most mornings snoozing close to my bedroom window, occasionally paddling with one foot to stay in place, the other foot tucked under a wing.

Coot heaven!

Whenever anything large floats by you can bet it will attract the interest of coots. Often, as here, they 'climb aboard' and grub for food in the floating mass, until they realise that they've drifted downstream into another coot's territory, and then there's trouble!