Here today . . .

Coot on Lonely's ramp

I doubt whether Lonely liked the coot using her plank as a place to preen when it came off its nest, but the coot's presence was advantageous in one way. While it 'stood guard' on the plank no other ducks dared attack Lonely. However, I saw a most unusual sight one evening while Lonely was off her nest and the coot was absent. I noticed a male mandarin duck standing on the plank and then, to my amazement, saw its mate come out from inside Lonely's box. What on earth she was doing entering another duck's nest is beyond my comprehension.

When Lonely's mate wasn't around she was sometimes dragged off her nest by one of the 'waiters'. Below you can see her swimming back to her nest with her mate.



On the days immediately preceding the hatching of the ducklings, Lonely's mate stood guard on the plank most of the time. While she and her mate were away feeding on Thursday evening, we peeked inside her box and counted five ducklings and some eggs still to hatch, so we knew the ducklings would emerge on the following day. Lonely had been excellent at protecting her nest so we had high hopes that she would be a good mother. How wrong can one be? At around lunchtime on Friday, after many failed attempts to lure her ducklings from the safety of their nest box, Lonely eventually coaxed one out.

Duckling at nest entrance

The duckling swam around with Mum for a few moments and then Lonely left it to go back into the nest and urge the others to make a break for it. Fortunately the baby found its way back up the plank and waited.

Lonely with two ducklings

There were nine ducklings in all but only one other emerged from the box. The rest refused to budge and, after about 10 minutes of calling to them Lonely seemed to get bored. She and her mate swam upstream with the two ducklings, leaving the rest in the box.

Lonely with four

About three hours later Lonely returned minus the ducklings and coaxed out four more ducklings. We hoped that she had left the other two in a safe place but she showed no signs of going back upstream. She then swam off with the four, leaving three more in the box. While she was hanging around she was attacked by four 'waiters' and I had to chase them off. By this time the ducklings were scattered and I feared that the coot would attack them. Lonely did return and collect them and that was the last we saw of them!

By late afternoon, I heard a duckling in distress and Dave managed to catch it in a net so that we could return it to the box. Just as we were about to do so, Lonely returned and we just had time to put back the duckling before she went into the nest box. She now had just three ducklings and when they finally emerged and swam round to the back with her we weren't hopeful that they would survive. I think Lonely was attacked again and flew off and we never saw the ducklings again. She returned to her nest to check whether there were any left but, basically, all nine had disappeared in the space of a day and a half. Ironically, Lonely has started inspecting the neighbouring nest box, no doubt for a second attempt at rearing young!

Our duck in a basket however, is getting more used to us being around. Below you can see her preparing to head back to her nest in the hanging basket.

Fox claims another victim

HB insists on nesting in the hanging basket

A fox climbed the narrow steps onto Wotnot's top deck and killed a mallard in the small hours of Thursday morning. The duck had been sitting on eggs for more than two weeks. Claudia was woken up by unusual sounds and went to investigate. To her amazement the fox had managed to lift the lid on the nesting box and, sadly, Claudia was just too late to save the duck. Caught in the act, the fox jumped from the top deck when Claudia went to see what was causing the disturbance.

Dave undertook the distressing task of dealing with the aftermath as both Claudia and I were too upset. It would seem that the fox or several foxes had been busy that night as a Canada goose had also been killed in Linda & Lisa's garden and we heard that a female mallard's body was removed from inside another islander's dinghy. This was worrying news, especially when HB failed to show up all morning. Usually, we would see her with her mate on the other side of the river and she would turn up for a quick feed around 11.00am, but there was no sign of either of them all morning. Dave and I assumed the worst and were feeling quite down, but she surprised us both by turning up at 2.30pm for a late start. Perhaps, because of the warmer weather, she didn't feel the need to start sitting so early?

As you can see from the picture of HB (above) she has chosen an unusual spot for a nest. In spite of the fact that this hanging basket is just outside our patio doors which are in frequent use, HB obviously knows a thing or two about keeping out of harm's way. I think she'll be pretty safe from the fox, even if it climbs on to the garden deck, and she's also less prone to attack from rogue drakes. From our viewpoint she makes it difficult for us to use our boat without disturbing her but at least she is getting used to our opening and closing the door right next to her. We'll just have to learn to live with each other. When we thought she'd been another victim of marauding drakes and had drowned, we were really sad.

Lonely heads back to her nest box

Every morning at around 4.15am one of 'the waiters' tries to attack Lonely in her nest box and we hear the sound of her taking flight from the box. Fortunately, this doesn't happen much during the day so she is able to sit on her eggs undisturbed for hours at a time. Yesterday, though, she was attacked at around 9am and she took the opportunity to feed and have a 'wash and brush up' before returning to the nest.

An unusual symbiotic relationship has evolved between her and the coots. They frequently used her plank to 'haul out' on for a preen after coming off their nest and stand guard at the base of her 'gangplank '. I watched with amusement last night as one of the coots saw off three rogue males which were attempting to attack Lonely in her box. It just stood its ground and 'swore' at the three drakes until they gave up and swam away!

Male tufted duck takes a drink

Most of the tufted ducks have gone their separate ways for the breeding season but several pairs still visit us every day. This one, and its mate (pictured below) have both shown signs of interest in the second nesting box on the river.

Female tufted duck

I was surprised to see this female emerging from the second nesting box by the river the other day. The box seems to intrigue quite a few of the waterfowl including the Mandarin ducks, the coots and the tufted ducks. The only ones not to have investigated it are the Pochards.

Bumble bee collecting pollen

On the first really warm day this month I watched a bee making the most of the sunshine as it flew around gathering pollen. We've had quite a few of these beautiful creatures in the garden recently.

Blackbird waits his turn to bathe in the pond

The other day we watched a Blackbird try to use his favourite spot in the pond for a bath. Unfortunately for him a drake had other ideas and wouldn't let the Blackbird anywhere near the cascade. After several attempts, the bird flew to one side and waited patiently for the drake to go. He then flew straight to his 'safe' place and had a wonderful bath.

Worth the wait

It was worth the wait for all of us. The Blackbird had a good long bath and we spent an enjoyable few minutes watching events unfold.

The chases continue

There seem to be three pairs of mute swans around at the moment. This would suggest to me that the dominant pair are losing 'respect'. UPH and her partner are gentle swans and don't really pose a threat but the other pair are quite fierce and may well challenge our resident swans for the territory next year.

Bidou's nest was raided last week, presumably by a fox. One of her eggs was found on the road, some way from the island in the lagoon where she has been nesting and another eggs had rolled down to the water's edge. As her eggs are much larger than a duck's eggs we assume the egg must have been carried away by a fox. Certainly a Magpie would not have been able to carry off such a large egg.

Chrissy phoned to ask what to do as she was worried that a fox would kill Bidou. She was thinking of netting off the area to try and protect the black swan but in the end the decision was taken away from her by Bidou herself who decided to abandon the nest. We're sad that, yet again, Bidou is without both a mate and a nest, but at least she's safe. I've missed having her around so it's nice to see her here on a regular basis.

Male Pochard arriving for a quick snack

The male Pochard visits us quite frequently but we only see the female for breakfast, lunch (sometimes) and dinner. She is nesting somewhere on Garrick's Ait and is very secretive. Last year she was seen with ducklings but they only survived a few days before predators took them.

Magnolia in bloom

On the first warm day last week my magnolia finally opened its buds and is now in full bloom. It looks so lovely next to the pond and is sweet scented, too.

Ducks everywhere

Female mallard flees advances from rogue males

There's a flurry of activity in the garden every evening between 5.30 - 7.00pm as hungry female ducks arrive with their partners for supper after sitting for hours on their nests. The mallards aren't the only arrivals, though, as we now have two pairs of mandarin ducks accompanied by a spare male, a pair of pochards with a spare male, the two fat ladies and their unruly mob of hybrid ducks, two pairs of mute swans, and two pairs of warring coots.

The pecking order has nothing to do with size, either. One pair of mandarin ducks reigns supreme, successfully seeing off every other duck from the feeding platform. Only the coots occasionally challenge them. The pochards don't get a look in.

Meanwhile, the more timid ducks await their turns on either our summer house roof or our neighbours' roofs. It's easier to feed some of them in a bowl in the garden which speeds up the process and causes fewer fights.

Bidou, meanwhile, is sitting on at least two eggs and is being thoroughly spoiled by the lagoon householders, so we rarely see her here now. For the past two years her eggs have been infertile, possibly because she's mating with a mute swan. Once again her mate is a mute swan so we have doubts as to whether the eggs will be fertile. What the cygnets might look like, should the eggs prove fertile, is anybody's guess.

So far we still have no takers for the upstairs nesting box but a mallard has been investigating a hanging basket by the patio doors and covering the deck below with earth and dead plant material. This morning I watched her fly on to the basket but when she saw me sitting at the computer she flew off again.

Great crested grebes

It seems only a week or so ago that the grebes were in their drab winter plumage but all of a sudden they are sporting courtship colours and their crests are most impressive. The male mandarin ducks are also looking particularly striking at present.

Dave has just told me that the grebes in the lagoon have had their nest, with one egg, raided. Coots attack the grebes' nest every year, turf out any eggs and claim the nest for themselves. Alternatively, it's possible that a crow or magpie stole the egg. I saw a crow perch on the side of our dinghy during the week, edging towards Lonely's nest. We're not sure whether it would dare risk entering the nest box because of its size but we've seen magpies raid our nest boxes on a regular basis. The crow is so clever it has learned to land in the river to grab pieces of bread when people are feeding the ducks. It's more of a 'touch and go' but it still stops in the water for a moment, rather than just skimming the surface.

Female mallard in sunlight

In spite of their uniform colour, female mallards are quite lovely to look at when you study the patterns on their feathers and beaks. Their colours vary tremendously, as do their personalities. One mallard is so trusting that she flies down the greet me and runs right up to me. Another, pretends to be afraid and opens her beak to 'swear' at me to keep my distance. Some ducks are pale and thin, while others are glossy brown and well padded. Their beaks are also quite different, some almost black, others mottled and some quite pale. I've noticed, too, that the line that 'highlights' their eyes, which is typically black, can also be very pale. Goldeneye, my long term resident until the fox got her last year, had a definitive 'blonde' streak around her eyes.

We have always assumed that a fox took Goldeneye but Annie, downstream from us, has said she's seen a mink around. That's really bad news for the wildlife, especially coots, moorhens and tufted ducks. We've suffered the results of their killing sprees in the past, which have included attacks on swans, ducks, and the smaller waterfowl. One mink wiped out an entire coot family and it was heartbreaking to hear the parents' desperate cries as they tried to defend their youngsters.

Lonely approaching her nest

Lonely is sitting on her eggs full time now so I seldom see her except on the rare occasions when she is driven from the nest by the rogue male 'waiters'. They are brown hybrid ducks with white chests that hang out together and attack any female that enters their orbit. Mr. Speckles, one of the guilty 'waiters', encouraged his mates to 'gang up' on his own partner last year, and is now without a mate but just as badly behaved. Poor Mrs. Speckles was attacked so often last year that she lost many of her feathers and was partly bald down her neck and back. Often, when one of 'the waiters' dragged her off her nest, her eggs were damaged. Also, because she was dragged off so often and 'gang raped' she took a long time to recover from near drowning and in her absence a magpie would steal her eggs. In the end she drowned following yet another attack from her errant partner and his mates.

I'm pleased to see that Lonely's mate is far more diligent and aggressive at protecting his partner. He keeps a close eye on the nest box and drives off 'the waiters' when they attempt to attack Lonely. Occasionally she is driven off the nest at first light but for the most part she has been allowed to sit on her eggs in peace.

Lonely's first egg

This is Lonely's first egg, laid on March 1st. Her nest is now full of eggs and is covered with a combination of straw and her downy feathers. Every so often we see her poke her head out of the box but she is fairly secretive. Her mate spends a lot of time idling in front of the nest and muttering away to her. When he gets fed up he hauls out on our neighbour Patrick's deck and rests there where he can still keep guard over Lonely.

Mute swan chasing off a rival

The dominant mute is still chasing away intruders but we see less of him at the moment. He's probably with his mate on the other side of the island where she is nesting. This gives UPH and her partner a chance to sneak in and grab some food.

What surprised me on this occasion was that the dominant mute ignored the younger swan which still has some brown feathers and is therefore one of last summer's cygnets. Typically, the parents see off their own youngsters when they are old enough. Perhaps dad decided to give his offspring a chance because this is the second time that he has chosen not to drive the youngster away.

The pochards call by for a late breakfast

I presume that the pochards are nesting again on Garrick's Ait this year. They arrive every morning, lunch time and evening for their 'wheat treat' and then drift upstream again. The 'spare' male turns up quite often but isn't encouraged to linger.

While I've been writing this a female mallard has just flown back onto the hanging basket but was once again spooked by movement in the house. We don't mind her using it as a nest but she'll have to get used to us or it will never work! She's back on the basket again and is chucking earth on to the deck with gay abandon. We'll have an egg in there by lunch time so I guess I'll have to cover it up with some straw to hide it from magpies and crows. Unless, of course, she is spooked by our movements and decides to nest elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the upstream coot has decided to use Lonely's gangplank as a haul out and grooming spot. I don't suppose Lonely is too impressed by having to share her property with an aggressive coot.

Lonely lays her first egg

Male tufted duck taking a nap

We've had mixed weather again, plenty of grey days but sunshine at times too. The temperatures have been on the chilly side still, but the wildlife has decided that Spring is definitely here. The grebes have regained their glorious 'courtship' plumage and the mandarin ducks are looking their best.

Lonely, the little hybrid duck with dark feathers and a white chest, has decided to use the nesting box at riverside level. On March 1st she laid her first egg and now has at least 10. I just went to check in the box but she's already sitting so I shan't disturb her. To keep her safe from the fox Dave has placed a barrier at the corner of the walkway which should prevent it from trotting round to the nest boxes. Having lost Goldeneye to the fox last year we don't want Lonely to meet the same fate.

Mute swan flies away to avoid attack from rival

The dominant mute swans are patrolling their territory very aggressively at the moment. It's amazing to watch the power in their wings as they take off. Yesterday I watched one swan almost brought down in flight by it's attacker. Fortunately it just managed to surge ahead at the last minute.

Rowers on a grey and misty morning

Cormorant flies off after a good breakfast

The cormorants have been dining well, recently, and it's fun to watch them surfacing with fish just beyond our deck. The grebes are feeding well, too, so it's a sign that the river must be quite healthy.

S.L. Belle going upstream

On another grey day this lovely old steam launch passed by, an elegant example from a more glamorous era.

It's now mid March and I'm hoping that Spring will show more obvious signs of its arrival. The garden still looks reluctant to come out of hibernation but the birds, at least, are active in the garden and we had the pleasure of a visit from a beautiful song thrush this week. The kingfisher has also stopped by a few times recently but we can't predict when it will arrive, which is a shame. It's such a stunning bird.

Oh For A Few Days Of Sunshine!

Mandarin duck enjoys a brief glimpse of sunlight

All the signs are here. The chaffinches are calling to each other, the coots are having serious battles over territory, the little brown duck, Lonely, and her mate are checking out the nesting boxes, but the weather is anything but Spring like. We've had the occasional sunny day, and some half-hearted sunrises and sunsets, but for the most part grey skies, bucket-loads of rain, and cool temperatures are all we have to show for the approach of Spring. The mandarin ducks turn up for food most days, but even they couldn't be bothered to brave the heavy rainfall one day this week.

Mrs. Pochard

The Pochards are here so often they are part of the scenery. Even they, however, disappeared for most of yesterday when the heavens opened. The two male escorts are elegantly coiffured with not a feather out of place.

We've had a less frequent visitor to the garden twice in one week, and I'm hoping it will stop by on a regular basis. There was a flash of blue and, when I took a closer look, I saw a kingfisher sitting in the fig tree looking down at the pond. I don't know whether we still have any fish but I think the kingfisher was checking things out. I saw him/her again two days later, sitting on the railings, but I couldn't tell whether it was watching the pond or the shallow river water outside the front door.

Boats in tandem

On a cold, grey morning these boats came through the lock in tandem, saving fuel by using only one engine to power the two of them. Even when the weather's dull there's nearly always something to see on the river, whether it be birds or boats.

Bidou is getting restless

Bidou has become very vocal these days. She chats away to us when she's feeding and she becomes positively distraught at the sound of swans flying overhead. She must be sensing that the mating season is fast approaching and still she has no partner. Although I shouldn't assume that she has 'human' emotions, there are times when she appears to be desperate for company. I can see her now, as I'm writing this, tailing the pair of dominant mute swans as they head here for their last 'wheat treat' of the day. Bidou was here only 10 minutes ago and she was crying out quite pitifully, as if she were calling to her 'friends'. She's not hungry for food but she is hungry for company.

Southern Cormorant

With all the rain the cormorants have enjoyed some good fishing. They seem to be getting quite tame, too. I surprised one by the front door and, instead of diving in panic, it just looked at me and stayed where it was. The southern cormorant, pictured above with its coarse, silver neck plumage, is equally bold and frequently surfaces really close to the houseboat. The other day I saw it fighting with an eel but the eel appeared to win and the cormorant abandoned the fight! Unfortunately, the light was low and I was unable to get a good image of the 'encounter'.

The 'two fat ladies' have just been for supper and were extra hungry tonight. They hadn't called by for breakfast or lunch today but made up for the deficit of wheat when I hand fed them. Were they hungry!!

It's almost dark, but at least it is already 5.40pm, and the evenings are getting lighter. The mandarin ducks are still tucking in to a late supper on the deck. And now, it's time to think about our evening meal . . . and it won't consist of wheat!

How many Pochards?

Dawn patrol

The dominant mute swans don't tolerate interlopers and, with Spring approaching, have increased the early morning patrols of their territory. The mute swan tagged UPH and his partner have been sneaking in for a quick beakful of wheat but it's a risky business. Over the past fourteen days they've been chased away at least a dozen times! They took flight just in time on this occasion but I hope they won't be foolish enough to come back. This was a grab shot, as I hadn't been paying attention and only noticed the action at the last moment. I should know by now that, when the light is lovely and there's wildlife about, I should have my camera close by and be prepared for what might happen!

Bidou stretches her wings

Bidou has become very vocal recently and 'chats' away to us whenever we feed her. In fact, if we don't notice her, she makes sure that we're aware of her presence by increasing the volume of her calls for attention. I've noticed that she responds to any swans flying overhead by 'trumpeting' very loudly as they pass. It's sad that she is still alone, three years after settling in the area, and attaches herself to the pair of mute swans for company whenever she can. It's obvious that they don't really want her around but at least they're not beating her up at the moment.

There's no 'entente cordiale' among Pochards

Monsieur and Madame Pochard have become regulars now and we assume they are the pair that nested in the area last summer. We were rather surprised the other morning to see five pochards hanging around at first light, two pairs and a 'spare' male. We wondered, at first, whether 'the regulars' had brought their mates in from Bushy Park but it soon became apparent that there was no love lost between them and the newcomers haven't been seen since that morning. There's little 'entente cordiale' between the pochards and the mandarin ducks either and there are frequent squabbles but it's fun to watch them all interact. The colourful plumage of the mandarins and the vibrant crest and beak of the male pochard brightens up the rather drab days at the moment.

A determined tufted duck

The current has been strong recently and the waterfowl are having to swim hard against the flow to make any headway. This male tufted duck saw me come out to throw some wheat on the plank and put on a spurt to make sure he didn't miss out on a treat.

Mute swan thrusts against the current

The dominant cob spots a rival

I'm always amazed at just how powerful the dominant pair of mute swans are. They make an impressive pair when they 'see off ' rivals and the wake they create gives some indication of their strength as they surge through the water.

Belize and back again

Wood Stork

When we used to live in Belize, back in 1991, Crooked Tree Wildlife Reserve was not particularly well known. Now, with the help of the Belize Audubon Society, access and information are much improved. Though we were disappointed not to see any Jabiru storks, the tallest flying bird in Central America and South America, we did see plenty of other lovely water birds including the Wood Stork pictured above.

Green Heron

We followed a few trails at Crooked Tree and also drove along some of the village roads where we spotted a number of herons and a hawk, including the Green Heron, above.

Little Blue Heron

Tricoloured Heron

Common Black Hawk

Jaguar

We stayed for one night at the Tropical Education Centre and visited The Belize Zoo. The zoo was founded by an American, Sharon Matola, because indigenous animals used in the filming of Mosquito Coast, would not have survived had they been released back into the wild. We had the pleasure of taking a special 'night tour' of the zoo, which was amazing, and returned the next day in the pouring rain.

Puma

Ocelot

Yellowthroat Warbler

We spotted this handsome and cheeky bird while having lunch at Cheers on the Western Highway. Many thanks to Chrissy from Cheers for letting me know. According to Chrissy, he visits every day.

Roadside Hawk

On our way to Hopkins Village we regularly spotted several Roadside Hawks, including this one whose surprised expression may have been connected to the unusually shaped stream of excrement that he'd just released. I edited it from the picture because it looked very like a Johnson's ear bud!

Long-tailed Hermit Hummingbird

While we were staying in the jungle at the delightful Hickatee Cottages the rainforest lived up to its reputation with abundant downpours. The already shady jungle canopy was darker than normal which made bird photography quite a challenge, especially that of hummingbirds that are in the habit of flitting from flower to flower at lightning speed. They also seemed to know which flowers I had focused my camera on and would seek nectar from other blossoms before I had a chance to re-focus!

The No Sus Falls

There are some stunning waterfalls in the Toledo district including this one. Even though the weather was wet and grey the falls were breathtakingly beautiful. I should imagine that, on sunny Sundays, the local Maya and Ketchi Indians bring their families here to enjoy the refreshing, cool waters of the pools and lagoons.

Rio Blanco Falls

The Rio Branco Falls, also in the Toledo District close to Guatemala, were even more impressive and we had the pleasure of watching a Kingfisher plunge into one of the clearer pools in search of lunch. There's a rather alarming cable bridge over part of the falls and it feels most unsafe walking on small slats of wood that swing as you move. The fact that you can see the water beneath you between the widely spaced slats adds to the experience!

Boats outside Barfield Marine

On our return home we had the pleasure of one fresh snowfall before the white landscape turned to grey . . and wet. Fortunately, the following Sunday was a glorious day and we took the boat out for a trip upstream to see whether anything had changed over the past five weeks. There was little evidence of change and it didn't take long for our 'regular' wildlife to find out that we were back. The wildlife and Dave and I are very grateful to Claudia for looking after garden birds and the waterfowl while we were away.

Astoria

Belize was wonderful but it's good to be home again and there's a lot to be said for messing about by the river on a sunny Sunday afternoon. However often we 'cruise' around Hampton and Platts Eyot we never tire of the beauty of this area.