HB's ducklings are launched . . . with a little help from Dave!

More territorial battles

The dominant swans are somewhat preoccupied while the pen (the female) sits on her eggs so the male is less active on this stretch of the river. His absence has allowed a variety of non-breeding swans to venture into his territory and, when he does catch them out, he does his best to see them off but with a little less determination than previously.

Another day another chase!

HB gasps in the untypical heat of April

It's been so hot and sunny here this month (hotter than many destinations in southern Europe) and HB has been suffering from lack of moisture as she sits all day on her nest. She seemed so distressed recently that we sprayed her with very fine water droplets to cool her slightly and provide her with some moisture.

The ducklings appear

HB was getting very restless last Wednesday evening and we noticed that she was sitting very high in her nest so we guessed the ducklings were hatching. Sure enough we could just make out a couple through the base of the nest and hear their tiny high-pitched calls.

Seven ducklings wait for mum's invitation to jump!

HB was driven off her nest at around 9.30am on Maundy Thursday and was attacked by at least 5 rogue males. We managed to rescue her/chase off her attackers from the middle of the river but she kept being chased and had to fly off for a while. This gave us the opportunity to check on the ducklings which remained calm in their nest.

After a while she was able to return to the nest and spent the best part of 30 minutes preening her feathers and settling down again. She waited until all the males had grown bored and given up waiting for her to come off the nest again and then she sneaked off and called for her ducklings to follow. Unfortunately they seemed reluctant to leave the safety of the nest and she became frantic so Dave lifted down the hanging basket and helped to launch the ducklings.

Proud mum swims off with her seven

Surprisingly, after the morning's difficulties, the randy males left her and the ducklings alone and she was able to join up with her partner and spend a leisurely day swimming around in the area close to us. The next morning she still had seven ducklings and we were hopeful that she might keep at least two or three alive from this batch but it wasn't to be. The following day there were none. We can only assume that they were taken by either pike, heron, a herring gull, a crow or the mink. So far we've seen 21 ducklings and none have survived.

On the subject of the mink, it's been spotted all around the island and Gareth has just called round to say that he and Dan had just seen it. Yesterday we saw it running along Inca's deck before disappearing into their 'hold' again.

Double tulip

I bought some spring bulbs for the garden and had forgotten what varieties I'd planted so I was pleasantly surprised by these soft pink double tulips. The garden looked particularly lovely while they were in flower.

Smudge shows his 'good' side for the camera

We've been visited by an aberrant blue tit for weeks now whose face is normal on one side and disfigured on the other. He also has a large expanse of black feathers on his stomach which should be all yellow. I think he must be blind on the disfigured side because of the strange way in which he feeds.

Smudge's strange disfigurement

What surprised us was how well he seemed to be able to defend himself against other blue tits as we thought he would soon fall prey to more dominant birds. He must have been with us for at least 2 months but I haven't seen him around of late. I have, however, seen a neighbour's cat hiding under our acer tree by the pond on a regular basis!

Mrs. Mandy waits her turn for supper

We must have at least 5 pairs of mandarin ducks and a few spare males calling for supper each day! On this particular occasion two males escorted her and perched on the top deck railings with her. Eventually one got bored with waiting and dozed off in one of my plant troughs instead.

Two pairs of red-crested pochards also drop by every evening. They don't get on at all well with the mandarin ducks. Last night I was upset to see that one of the female pochards had a badly injured leg. I don't know if it was broken but she couldn't stand upright on the plank. She did, however, manage to put up a good fight when a mallard tried to 'share' her food. I'm hoping it was only a bad strain and that she'll be a bit better this evening.

Nature . . . red in tooth and claw

Intruders beware!

Our dominant mute swans are nesting in the lagoon and the male is showing no mercy to any intruders in his territory. Pictured above is a fight downstream last week and today we nearly had to rescue a swan that the dominant male was trying to drown. It was too weak to fly away and attempted, instead, to climb out onto the bank but it got stuck between some shrubs with part of its body still vulnerable and the other swan tried to drag it back into the river. We had just set off in our boat to rescue it when it made one final effort to free itself and managed to crawl onto the towpath. Meanwhile, another mute swan was swimming downstream and distracted the male which turned his attention to the other intruder. We watched as the exhausted swan on the towpath waddled as far away from the river as it could, flopping down in the grass for regular rests. We were worried that it would be attacked by a dog but it managed about an hour's rest before the dominant swan decided to hunt it down on land. As soon as the beaten swan saw the aggressor approach at speed it tried to run then thought better of it and finally managed to take off and escape. So determined was the dominant mute to see off its rival that after returning to the river it flew back onto the towpath half an hour later to make sure that its rival had really gone.

Bidou's sanctuary

Bidou, meanwhile, continues to make herself scarce and is often to be found at the far end of Platts Eyot. Yesterday evening we saw her with a young mute swan so it would seem that she continues to favour mute swans over her own Ozzie kind! She occasionally sneaks down here for some wheat but is instantly chased away by the dominant mute if he's around.

Garricks Ait in the early evening

The weather has been lovely recently and we've enjoyed a few boat trips, partly to see what Bidou is up to. The river is particularly attractive towards the end of the day when the light is low and golden.

HB is back!

Madam is back again this year in her favourite spot, a hanging basket right outside our patio doors. She appeared on the deck last week and kept looking at me and then up to the spot where her previous nest, a hanging basket, had been. We'd removed it for the winter but she left me in no doubt as to her wishes. Dave thought I was imagining it but when I gave in and hung up a basket she flew straight into it. Unfortunately I hadn't been able to find her old basket and the replacement one was rather small. She soon poked her beak through its lining too, so Dave repaired it for her but she didn't think much of the substitute lining and ripped it out. She was also having a problem with the basket's small size and I realized that it would never accommodate both her and 12 - 14 eggs. She was showing signs of desperation so I searched around for a larger, more stable hanging basket and, within two minutes of putting that one in place for her she had taken up residence. Two hours later she had produced her first egg.

HB settles in

It's a very safe place to nest because neither the fox nor the mink can reach her and she's partly under cover from the house which means that magpies and crows can't steal her eggs. We have to walk past her every time we want to use our day boat but she has obviously got used to us now since she hardly bothers to look up when we pass under her nest.

Sunset over Hurst Park

A couple of weeks ago we had some colourful sunsets. The sky looks so lovely through the bare branches of the trees. Now that the clocks have been moved forward the days are longer and the sunsets gradually move round towards the other side of the island by mid June.

Magnificent Magnolia

The tree outside our garden has grown so much over the years and it blooms at least twice most years though the second display of flowers is never as stunning.

Black Cap . . . with a red head!

We've had a pair of Black Caps in the garden since February but the male, which does have a black cap, has disappeared, probably caught by one of the many island cats. The female, pictured above, spends most of her time in the garden but is on her own now so she probably won't breed this year. Much as I love cats I resent the harm they do to so many garden birds. On the subject of predators, however, the most lethal one on four legs is back on Taggs Island. The vicious North American mink has been spotted at both ends of the island and I've seen him at close quarters twice now in the past few days, running from next door's garden through ours and making his way towards the upstream end of the island. It's very bad news for most water birds.

Beauty and the obese

Watery sunrise over Molesey Lock

February has been a pretty bleak month with many days of grey, overcast skies. Occasionally there's a hint of sunshine in the morning or late afternoon but we've had very few bright days. On sunny mornings and evenings, though, the lengthening days herald the arrival of Spring.

Red-crested Pochard

Two pairs of red-crested pochards and a extra male have been turning up at mealtimes recently. In spite of the generally overcast skies the view from my living room downstream to Hampton Court is quite colourful when the pochards, the mandarin ducks, the black swan and the sundry other waterfowl come to visit. Whereas the mandarin ducks fly up onto the deck outside for their 'wheat treats', the pochards feed only from the platforms at the front and side of the house. They are usually much less aggressive than many of the mallards and hybrid ducks but they hang around for as long as it takes for them to be fed. At present two pairs of mandarin ducks and a 'spare' male visit daily.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker

Both the male and female woodpeckers feed daily from their favourite location. Occasionally, if too many parakeets are on their preferred feeder they will fly to the more exposed peanuts but, generally speaking, the woodpeckers 'see off' the parakeets!

The Blackcaps are now regulars, spending most of the day in the garden and, once in a while, one or two nuthatches show up.

Male Tufted Duck

The tufted ducks are very used to us now and spend most of the day hanging around. They dive for the wheat that spills from the main feeding stations but often get mobbed by 'pirate' gulls when they join in the general feeding frenzies as people on the towpath throw bread out for the ducks. One of the local crows, however, outwits and intimidates even the gulls and often swoops off with bread crusts.

Is this an obese Blue Tit or is it just fluffed up against the cold?

We noticed a particularly fat blue tit in the garden and it hung around for several days, snacking from the window feeder, sitting inside the bird table or kipping on a branch of the magnolia tree. We weren't sure whether it had fluffed its feathers up against the cold or whether it was unwell. It either fed or slept during the day and couldn't be asked to open its eyes once it went into sleep mode. It allowed me to get so close to it that I wondered whether it might be ill and so, not wishing to distress it, after that I kept my distance. It was able to fly well and there was nothing wrong with its appetite, so maybe it was just feeling the cold!

Blue Tit on my bird table

When I first noticed it I approached the bird table and took this image of it. I was surprised that the bird seemed unruffled by my presence and, although it looked up at me it soon put its beak back under its wing.

Bidou has an early morning stretch

If Bidou times her visits well she gets plenty to eat and is able to feed in peace and undisturbed by the dominant pair of mute swans. She likes to hang around after breakfast and preen and be generally sociable. When she's ready to move on she nearly always emits a series of trumpeting calls before heading upstream. She also calls out every time she hears swans flying overhead.

Same wildlife different location

Female Pochard

While staying with friends at Hill Head, on the Solent, we strolled down to the lovely harbour with its adjoining nature reserve. Two of the first waterbirds we spotted were a female pochard (above) and a little grebe (below). Back home on the Thames we are regularly visited by a pair of red-crested pochards but seldom see 'regular' pochards.

A little grebe heads towards the reeds

At the mouth of the harbour, where the river Meon meets the Solent, we spotted a pair of little grebes, a pair of pochards, plenty of tufted ducks, gulls, coots, moorhens and, of course, mallards. The light was so lovely and refelcted the colour of the reeds in the water when I took this shot.

A little grebe intent on fishing

I watched for ages as the little grebes dived for very small fish, taking time out to preen their feathers on a regular basis. I was so pleased to be able to watch this pair at leisure as they were more habituated to humans than the pair I've spotted around Taggs Island.

Disappearing act

It's fun to watch them dive for fish. Their success rate isn't great if what they bring to the surface is all they get. They may be like cormorants, however, which swallow the smaller fish while still underwater.

Fulvous whistling duck

A rather handsome and unusual looking duck caught my friend's eye and it seemed to be arousing interest among some birdwatchers, so we asked them what it was. A fulvous whistling duck, was the reply, and I gather we were quite lucky to have seen it. They are not native to the UK, but this one seems to have settled in the area for a while.

The fulvous whistling duck has lovely matching beak and feet

The light wasn't very good when we discovered the fulvous whistling duck but, as it was low tide, we were fortunate enough to see it both in and out of the water. I went down to the haven the following morning when the light was fabulous but the tide was in and the duck was nowhere in sight. However, as I turned my attention to some swans having a territorial dispute, I heard a strange whistling call and was thrilled to see the duck fly past me and land in some reeds beyond. I could just make it out amongst the reeds in the distance and was able to watch it preen for a while but the reeds prevented me for getting a decent image.

Territorial battles

Just as our local swans on the Thames are defending their territory from intruders, so the dominant pair at Titchfield Haven were busy seeing off the opposition. I could hear the familiar slap of wings and feet on water during take-off and landing and also the lovely 'whistling' sound of the wind in their wings during flight as the fleeing pair left the haven and headed out to sea.

He who fights and 'flies' away . . . !

On this occasion one of the swans under attack took the line of least resistance and flew to safety but I'm sure there will be plenty of battles in the coming breeding season.

A tree sparrow sunbathes in the chill morning air

It was a beautiful bright morning the following day, still very cold but the light was fabulous, so I visited the Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve. Next to the Visitor Centre is a café and garden with plenty of bird feeders around to keep the local birds well supplied during the cold spell. The tree sparrow (above) enjoyed some early morning sunshine after a frosty night while helping himself to some pyrocantha berries .

Tide's out

Low tide is lovely here leaving interesting patterns in the sand. Some of the rock pools also attract wading birds to the shoreline. We saw plenty of turnstones on the shore next to the harbour.

Back home on the Thames, the dominant swans are still patrolling their territory and chasing Bidou, the black swan, away. I'm delighted to see that the pair of little grebes still visit daily although they are far from habituated to humans and dive at the slightest of movements. In the garden, a pair of black caps now visit the bird table and peanut feeders and, even more exciting, a pair of nuthatches came to the most secluded on our peanut feeders this week. I'm hoping to get images of the black caps and nuthatches in the coming weeks.

Blue Tits and grey days

Blue Tit in garden

At certain times of the day the garden is full of blue tits and great tits making the most of the various feeding stations. They love sunflower hearts and are also keen on the food I put out for robins. In fact the robins often chase them away from 'their' feeding station. We also see a coal tit from time to time as well as the gregarious long tailed tits. We've nicknamed one of our blue tits "smudge" because his belly is mostly inky rather than yellow - far darker than the soft yellow belly of a typical blue tit.

One of the few lovely sunrises in the last couple of weeks

We haven't had many colourful sunrises recently so this was one to enjoy. I've been lucky enough to have lived in many different parts of the world and I do miss bright skies and sunny weather but I equally love England with its seasonal variations. When I lived in the Far East and parts of the Mediterranean sunrises and sunsets could be spectacular but I really missed the subtle changes in season and the sights, sounds and smells of the different seasons.

Aggression between swans

This is a grainy action image taken in low light but I hope I've captured the mood. The dominant swan isn't happy to find an intruder in his patch. Last week he attacked Bidou, the black swan, and I was able to fend him off for a while, having heard her distress calls, but the hostilities continued further upstream. She lived to tell the tale, as you'll see from her image below. I do hope she won't be drowned by him when territorial battles increase in the spring.

Bidou preens herself after a leisurely breakfast

Bidou now visits ahead of the dominant mute swans which means that she is fed without hassle or interruption. If I haven't seen her arrive she soon lets me know of her presence by emitting a mournful call on a regular basis. At night, if I hear her call, I then have to locate her in the dark. Fortunately her red beak is something of a giveaway.

Breakfast time for a cormorant

A pair of cormorants fish here daily and aren't starving by the looks of them. I watched this one swallow more than three bite-sized fish within five minutes. Most of the water birds appear uneasy when the cormorant gets too close to them - the little grebes completely freak out. A cormorant surfaced right next to a little grebe today and the tiny bird took off with fright.

A pair of little grebes

We've had a fair amount of the wet stuff of late so the river is flowing at some speed. Whether the strength of the current affects the little grebes or not, I can't say, but I haven't seen one for a few days. I was therefore delighted to see a pair of them swimming downstream today - in spite of their size they must be sturdy swimmers!

A pair of Little Grebes brighten up the gloom of the past few days

Robins are possibly our tamest garden birds

The other day I wandered up the island to see if I could spot a nuthatch that's been visiting gardens in the lagoon. I did catch sight of it as it flew away from a bird feeder with a whole peanut in its beak but it then flew off, probably back to Bushy Park. Instead this robin posed for me so my trip wasn't completely wasted. I shall make an effort over the next few weeks to get an image of the nuthatch as they are colourful visitors to our gardens.

One of a pair of dabchicks

On Boxing Day a friend mentioned that she'd seen a tiny 'duckling sized' water bird. She said she had thrown out some bread for it but that it had dived and disappeared so I guessed it was probably a little grebe, commonly known as a dabchick. The next day I spotted one on the far side of the river and for a few days it turned up between 8.00am and 10.00am, diving for fish along the Molesey bank. Occasionally it would risk crossing over to our side and I was lucky enough to catch a few glimpses of it as it swam past. Dabchicks are very shy birds and usually dive at the first sign of movement so I didn't dare open the French windows but decided to at least take some grab shots through the glass if the opportunity arose.

A second dabchick appeared for several days

After several days of watching and waiting I spotted a pair of dabchicks swimming across the river. They appear to have felt more secure than normal as they mingled with the tufted ducks, mallards, mandarin ducks and coots. Perhaps they felt there was safety in numbers? They hung around for several days but I've seen neither of them today.

Torrential rain might be a deterrent as the water drops falling from the branches of overhanging trees opposite are almost as big as the dabchicks themselves! I've often noticed how 'rain averse' ducks can be during persistent downpours. They all swim over to the far bank and shelter under the overhanging vegetation.

Dabchick refuses to be intimidated by Lonely

I could hardly believe my eyes yesterday when I watched the dabchick clamber on to the plank of one of the duck nesting boxes. Grebes in general are superb at swimming and diving but are ungainly on land as their legs are set well back on their bodies. This little one clambered onto the plank but soon slid down as it was wet and slippery. Undeterred it climbed back on and edged its way sideways quite some way up the ramp. Then it lay down and spent the next ten minutes preening. I saw it pull out a loose feather and swallow it - they sometimes do this as an aid to digestion. After a while, Lonely wandered up the plank as she considers this to be her nesting box and I watched with bated breath as the dabchick edged as close to the entrance to the nest box as possible, then turned and faced down Lonely. She seemed rather bemused at the lack of respect from such a tiny creature and, after staring at the dabchick for several minutes she turned and jumped off the plank.

I nearly missed a dental appointment because I couldn't drag myself away from such unexpected behaviour. It was delightful enough to be able to watch a little grebe at close quarters, albeit through the bedroom window, but to see it investigate the nest box and then watch it preen just six feet away was very special - a ten minutes well spent!

The river had begun to freeze over last week

Last week I was beginning to believe that the river would freeze over again. The lagoon had been frozen and the river itself was beginning to ice up but now heavy rain has been falling with only occasional spots of sleet/snow from time to time.

Friday, 12.00 midday, minutes after publishing this blog, the rain stopped and two dabchicks swam past the window when I was least expecting them!

Merry Christmas from a snowy river Thames

Kingfisher on our mooring bar

The lagoon has been frozen for much of the past week and, as a consequence, a kingfisher has been visiting our stretch of river in search of sustenance. Our pond is something of a magnet at the moment because the two Shibunkins are far from dormant and are proving too much of a temptation. Last year we lost five of the six fish and presumed they'd been taken either by a heron or a kingfisher (or both). We've since been told that the culprit may have been a grass snake! We saw one swimming away from our river bank across the river during the summer so that is another possibility.

I was hoping to grab a few more shots of this magnificent bird (through the kitchen window) but someone's cat had other ideas and scared it away. I'll have to hope that it returns and stays for a little longer another time. Whenever I've caught a glimpse of a kingfisher in the past it takes flight the moment it spots movement.

A view of Hurst Park from Garrick's Villa

While Dave and I were visiting Colin last week there was a blizzard and, for a while, we couldn't see across the river to Hurst Park. After lunch, however, the sky brightened and Colin showed us the magnificent views from upstairs.

Hampton Court Palace gardens

The snow really did lie deep and crisp and even during the week and the Palace was obliged to close the gardens to the public. I work at the Palace on Mondays and was therefore able to take this shot from King Williams Apartments, looking down over the Privy Garden.

Another view of Hampton Court Palace gardens

Early morning in the freezing cold

The big freeze lasted long enough for the river to start icing over. I had to break the ice in the stretch of water between our houseboat and the riverbank so that the ducks and swans could reach their feeding station. Only one duck had used his initiative and must have flown round to be fed. He was standing on the ice waiting for his breakfast! Even the main river had chunks of thin ice forming in places. It reminded me of New Year's Day in the year 2000 when the river froze solid and remained unnavigable for almost 10 days in spite of the efforts of the Environment Agency's ice-breaker.

Male Pochard in the early morning light

On one of the few really sunny mornings the beautiful early morning light enhanced the plumage of the various ducks, geese and swans. There was an amazing mix of wildfowl including eight mandarin ducks, a pair of pochards, a widgeon, all the usual suspects and Bidou, the black swan, whose feathers were encrusted with ice particles. She looked quite stunning as the sun glinted

off her frozen back.

The lagoon was partly frozen over last Sunday

A parakeet waiting its turn on the peanut feeder

The garden birds have been particularly hungry during the cold spell and more are taking advantage of the bird feeders to stave off hunger. When it comes to pecking order the parakeets have their own but they all defer to the woodpecker. I've seen some interesting fights between both breeds and the woodpecker always wins.