Portraits of Alopecia, the red crested Pochards and a surprise from Bidou

 

 Alopecia poses

Alopecia took advantage of the breeze to demonstrate that he isn't completely bald.  He stood proudly on our day boat with the wind behind him and tricked us into thinking that his feathers were growing back.  Sadly, when I saw him yesterday he only had one feather 'standing to attention'.

 

 A full on portrait shows the extent of his feather loss

When you see poor Alopecia from the front the extent of his baldness is striking.  What with his limp - he's quite an old boy and appears to be arthritic - life isn't easy for him!  In spite of his physical disadvantages, however, he is still higher in the pecking order than the male mandarin duck with the withered foot, another regular visitor.

 

 Alopecia looks better from behind!

 The red-crested pochards spend a lot of time here

We presume that this is the same pair as that which nested on Garrick's Ait last year.  They are very tame and have been spending a lot of time with us.  They are driven off by all the other birds, especially the coots and the mandarin ducks but they occasionally manage to get some quiet time to themselves on the floating platform.

What has happened to his beak?

I was taking a closer look at the pochards and suddenly noticed that the male's beak is deformed.  I'm not sure whether it's a defect from birth but he has a small chunk missing on the tip to the right of his beak.

 Bidou on our deck for the first time

Bidou has been with us for about five years now and in all that time she has never attempted to fly onto our deck for food.  The other morning Dave did a double take when he opened the front door and found Bidou standing right outside.  We're used to side-stepping a drake that follows us around and gets under our feet, and some of the mandarins allow us to almost touch them but it is rare for a swan to fly/climb onto the deck.  In the seventeen years that we've been back on the island we've only had three swans on the deck.  One was a mute swan that took to 'hauling out' by our patio doors one Christmas.  He used to sit down right next to the Christmas tree and watch the world go by.  On another occasion a black swan (long before Bidou) decided to join us on the deck one night.  Swans have poor eyesight in the dark and we had to shine a torch onto the river to show it how and where to safely get back in!  And now Bidou, but she hasn't been on the deck since Thursday.

The only other 'nearly news' is that our duck in the nest upstairs is due to hatch her ducklings but we're worried because the river is in spate, running at about five or six miles an hour.  This is likely to prevent the ducklings from keeping by her side when they do their kamikaze leap from the top deck and launch themselves into the river.

Lovely atmospheric light . . . and mandarin ducks with attitude

 Lovely late afternoon sun turns tree gold

Predictably, since the hosepipe ban came into force, we've had rain every day, sometimes quite heavy and prolonged downpours.  Late one afternoon last week the light was amazing and both of us stopped to admire the glorious colours reflected in the river.

The same tree a few minutes earlier

Here the tree is contrasted against a stormy sky.  When the light filters through the new 'spring' green leaves further along the towpath the effect is lovely. Sadly, the parakeets are tearing off the new growth on the horse chestnuts opposite us with wanton abandon and the river is full of leaves and new buds.

 Male mandarin duck shows off his spring plumage

We have a large contingent of oriental visitors turning up at meal times.  In fact, we seem to have almost as many mandarin ducks as mallards!  Most of them have partners but there are three 'spare' males, two of which spend their time trying to impress any female that's prepared to look in their direction.  The third, nicknamed Alopecia because of his receding crest, is too old and too arthritic to bother.  What's surprising is that they all seem to have taken to standing on the outside table where they now expect to be fed.  They obviously prefer dining at 'Le Premier Étage' where they have the advantage of being very conspicuous at eye level which means that I am more likely to notice their presence. The evening routine is getting ridiculous though as the various couples squabble over who gets served first.

 A pair of regular oriental diners

Because of all the fighting between couples Alopecia has to wait his turn although he does take precedence over another 'spare' male which has a withered foot.  It's interesting to watch the pecking order amongst the different species, too.  The mandarin ducks beat up on a pair of red-crested pochards and in turn are attacked and chased away by the coots.  The coots also see off the moorhens and, this morning I watched one intrepid coot face down a swan!  Mind you, the coots closest to our house show more brawn than brain.  They've spent a month trying to build a nest on our plank and there couldn't have chosen a less suitable site.  Apart from all the other hazards it's right in the path of the resident mink!

 Mink returns to one of its favourite locations

I was nearly late for work last week because of the mink.  I had seen it swimming past recently but I hadn't seen it on land for a while.  It was investigating one of its old haunts and showed no fear of Dave's and my presence. 

 There goes breakfast!

The ducks are very wary when the mink is around and they all keep a safe distance but follow it to keep an eye on it.  A number of mallards had spotted it and were swimming just far enough away for it to be unable to 'surprise' them. 

 Sitting for a portrait

Minks have little fear of humans and this one is no exception.  Several times it trotted along towards us then headed back before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Great-crested grebe with lunch

A pair of grebes already have a youngster and have been busy taking it in turns to feed their hungry offspring.  It spends most of its time on its parents' backs but has grown sufficiently in the last week to spend more time in the river when the adults want a break. 

 Too big a catch to feed junior

 At the moment the baby grebe can only tackle small fry but it won't be long before it can swallow larger fish and, eventually, start catching its own .  It always fascinates me to watch grebes with their catch.  They somehow manage to swallow fish that seem far too large for such small waterfowl.

 Finally, the right size fish for a baby grebe

The river must be teeming with fish at the moment as we've seen the grebes catch so many of varying sizes today.  In fact, one of the grebes abandoned its catch this afternoon when its partner also struck lucky at the same time.  I guess they all must have had enough to eat for one mealtime.

Exotic New Arrival

 

 A wood duck comes for breakfast

We were amazed to spot an unusual pair of ducks that flew in with a group of mandarin ducks.  The bitter cold of the previous few days has forced some of the exotic ducks to seek food away from Bushy Park.  I've never seen wood ducks in the park before but a pair flew in and joined forces with about 14 mandarin ducks.  Our elderly male mandarin, a regular visitor, was most put out to find himself competing for food with a host of younger and stronger newcomers.  A pair of coots were even more annoyed and did their best to drive off the newcomers.

  

A pair of wood ducks

 The female wood duck resembles a female mandarin duck and I can't tell the difference between them.  Perhaps if I could see both species side by side I'd spot the difference but, then again, perhaps they are identical.  I know very little about wood ducks other than the fact that they nest in trees, as do mandarin ducks.

Wood duck flaps his wings

It was minus 6 degrees C last night and I presume the ponds and lakes in Bushy Park may have frozen, judging by the sudden arrival of so many mandarin ducks and the newcomers.  The male wood duck showed no sign of shyness and was quite happy to fly onto our deck and compete with the mandarins for food.

 

 A phalanx of mandarin ducks

I counted 6 pairs of mandarin ducks and two spare males, including the elderly, balding and arthritic male who's a regular.  They all turned up for breakfast, lunch and supper yesterday and returned again this morning for an early breakfast.

 

 

 Sunset on the Norfolk Broads

We drove to Norfolk for an 80th birthday party last weekend and hoped to spend time enjoying the scenery.  Unfortunately snow stopped play but we did, at least, share this lovely sunset with some very hungry ducks and coots on one of the broads.

 

Same location, different view

 

 Grey heron shakes its feathers

 While we were out on the boat a while back we stopped to watch a heron fly onto the bank near Platts Eyot.  It spent a while looking at the river and then decided to preen and shake down its feathers.

 Bidou about to call out to some passing mute swans

Bidou still visits most days and has become quite talkative in the last few months.  She calls out to us if we don't notice her arrival and 'chats' quite a bit if we hang around to watch her feed.  She is still looking for a mate but, as there have been no passing black swans at all over the last couple of years, she seems keen to attract a male mute swan.  Apparently she did find a willing partner last Spring but the dominant pair of mute swans drove it away (or killed it).  Whenever she sees other swans or hears them fly overhead she lets out the most amazing low trumpeting sound followed by a piercing high pitched call. 

 

Dawn from the warmth of our living room.

I love the winter skies and dawn can be stunning, especially when the weather is cold.  The majestic silhouettes of the trees really stand out against the cold, bright skies and it's lovely to see ducks, geese and swans fly overhead.

Male red-crested pochard duck pays us a visit

The pochards have been absent for quite some time but this male turned up for a few hours without a partner.  He didn't bother to join the other ducks for lunch but loafed around for a while before heading back to wherever it is he had come from.

Autumn competes with a reluctant winter

  Autumn colours refuse to fade in Richmond Park

A wintry scene in late November in the lovely Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park stopped visitors in their tracks.  People paused for a while as they wandered through the gardens to take in the lovely autumnal reflection.

 

 A male tufted duck reflected in the river outside my window

 

 A show of strength

The swans are flexing their wings in a determined effort to establish this stretch of the river as their territory.  There seems to be an increase in the number of attacks and counter attacks between the main dominant pairs. 

Another successful display of dominance

Every day there are attempts from neighbouring swans to drive off the local dominant swans.  Both pairs have one remaining cygnet each and the youngsters are usually driven off by the rival parents.  Their own parents are beginning to tire of them, too, and should soon be driving them away permanently.  Bidou, the black swan, also enjoys chasing both cygnets!  I think she's taking it out on them because their parents always send her packing!  Bidou has become very vocal recently and has taken to arriving at first light and 'trumpeting' outside our window to let us know she's here for an early breakfast.  We sometimes hear her calling from a distance as she makes her way towards her first port of call for the day - the feeding plank.  She's a favourite with most Taggs Islanders - we all wish she would find a mate as she seems so lonely at times.

Sunrise over Hampton Court bridge

Moonrise over trees on Taggs Island

Dave took this lovely image of moonrise on the night of full moon in early December.  We've had some cloudless frosty nights and I love to look at the silhouettes of the beautiful trees on the towpath and gaze at the moon and stars in a vast dark sky.

 

Mistle thrush sings its heart out

We've been wondering which bird was singing so sweetly over the Christmas period.  I thought that only robins sung in December but we've been serenaded for days by rival birds.  Today we were finally able to identify the songbird and I was surprised to discover that it was a mistle thrush.  Dave recorded its song so, if you'd like to hear it for yourself, just click on the arrow above.  While we were admiring it a rival turned up and there was quite a battle.  I'm not sure which of the two won the skirmish but shortly afterwards the victor was laying claim to the territory.

Swans, heron, deer and the island mink!

 Swan shows intruder who is boss

On one of the few cold and misty mornings we've had so far this year I went over to Bushy Park to 'soak up' the atmosphere.  Part of Heron Pond was in sunshine as the mist started to burn off and I spotted this swan preparing to attack an intruder.

 The intruder decides it is better to 'fight another day'

On this occasion the intruder thought better of taking on his attacker and opted for flight rather than fight.

 The dominant cob is determined to make a point

Not satisfied with the intruder's attempt at flight the dominant male tries to pick a fight and chases the other swan in an attempt to engage in battle.  A coot hurriedly swims away from the battle front.

 In hot pursuit

The intruder puts on a spurt of speed and heads away from the dominant swan's territory with his pursuer gradually losing momentum.

What powerful wings . . .

 Meanwhile, away from the fight, another pair of swans glide across the park

 The Diana Fountain in early morning mist

 Stag in sunlight

As the day warmed up most of the stag 'activity' calmed down and this stag stood unchallenged with his harem close by.

 

Two young bucks reflected in the Longford River

 

 Doe makes a bid for freedom

This doe managed to sneak away from the harem and headed for the stream.  She had only rested there a few minutes when a rival stag spotted her and decided to 'try his luck'! 

 Not interested!

The doe was underwhelmed by her erstwhile suitor and 'did a runner'.  Undeterred he followed her but soon encountered a rival stag on the other side of the water.

 Loser . . .

 Another loser . . .

Stags with no mates!  These two old boys showed signs of battle fatigue.  They were obviously just two of the losers in this year's rut.

 Tern and its reflection in the Longford River

 Heron on the hunt . . .  a failed attempt

I watched this heron patiently wade through a stretch of water in search of lunch.  During the 15 minutes that I stopped to watch it in action it made many attempts to catch but failed more often than it succeeded.  However, I did see it spear and swallow several fish.  

 Another impressive attempt

 Success at last

 A little grebe goes unnoticed by most members of the public

 Mink on neighbour's deck with supper

 The mink has been around quite a bit of late which is bad news for the local waterfowl.  Several weeks ago I saw it carrying off a coot and last week I was just too late to save a young female tufted duck.  It hides in the shadows of the bank and pounces on unsuspecting wildfowl but it also catches fish.  This is the second fish I've seen it take.  Shortly after it had carried off the tufted duck I saw it or another mink hiding in an overhang of the riverbank.  I knew its habit of swimming round the house in order to access the front deck and had occasionally seen it head along the neighbour's deck towards me before suddenly doing a disappearing act.

 Heading for home

For several years a mink has been using the end section of a neighbour's hull as a bolthole.  I can usually tell when the beast is about because the ducks and other waterfowl are spooked at any sudden movement.  If the mink's on the prowl they fly in panic away from the river bank and head for the middle of the river.  Once there they all turn and face in the direction of the mink, watching its every movement.  It's a bit of a giveaway!  I've sometimes seen it sneak from its bolthole into the river and immediately hide in a recess in the campshedding.  In the shadow of the bank the mink is almost invisible with only its bright eyes glinting and the white dot on its chin showing if it raises its head.

The mink has now been evicted from its bolthole and is no doubt looking for somewhere new to rest up, eat and digest its meals in peace!