Autumn is in the air

Rowers near Molesey Lock in the early morning light

There's a definite feel of autumn these mornings, with mists on the river and that lovely golden haze as the sun filters through. The leaves on the horse chestnut trees are turning contributing their colour to the gentle morning light.

A young fox in Bushy Park

I've spent weeks trying to photograph the foxes in the park but they've always been camera shy. This youngster was cautious but curious and I was able to take a few pictures of it before it slunk away into the undergrowth.

The brother or sister of the youngster above

I was so excited about seeing the fox and when I spoke to a couple, who were also transfixed by the sleek and healthy looking youngster, they told me there were two to look out for. As the weather was brilliant the next day I headed back to the park and was fortunate enough to enjoy the company of the two young foxes for around 20 minutes. At first they were cautious but after a while they settled and ran around looking for food. It was quite magical to watch them chasing each other, sitting and scratching, slinking into the bushes when other people approached and then reappearing when the coast was clear.

A deer in Bushy Park

On the way back from watching the foxes I saw this deer trot through the main park. It is approaching the rutting season and I must get back to photograph the antics of the stags as they try to hold together their harems.

The new black swan flexes its muscles

The new arrival shows aggression towards the mute swans

We don't know whether this is a male or female black swan but it isn't popular with our dominant pair of mute swans, nor with Bidou, our resident female black swan. The mute swans used to see off Bidou in the Spring but over the months they seem to have almost accepted her. They all turn up to feed together but Bidou isn't allowed to feed from the same area as the family.

Seeing off the opposition

There have been several battles this week between the newcomer and the mute swans. It seems so aggressive that we think it might be a male. It also has a thicker neck than Bidou and holds it more erect.

The newcomer chases the cob

Another day another battle! This time the mute swan came off the worse for wear. The battle was fierce and ended up under our boat and we had to break it up. The vanquished slunk away to our feeding station looking quite shaken.

The victor with one of the mute swan's feathers in its beak

After the battle, the black swan stood on our floating raft and seemed rather pleased with itself. It still had a white feather in its beak but shortly after, started preening and the feather disappeared.

Bidou takes exception to the newcomer

It's official. Bidou doesn't like the new black swan and has spent most of this week chasing it away. On Thursday she went after it twice in succession and then rejoined the mute swan family, as close as she's allowed that is. She kept calling, using a single note, while the newcomer trumpeted away at her sounding forlorn!

One of the cygnets enjoys an early evening preen after supper

Most evenings, the swans come for supper and then linger close by to have a final wash and brush up before bed. It's hard to believe how much the pair have grown since the Spring but they're not independent yet.

A male tufted duck looking bright eyed

He's probably one of this year's offspring as his white areas are still a little grey and his tuft is quite short. I love the rounded shape of the tufted ducks and the way they lie on their sides to clean their tummies.

A partner for Bidou, or not?

This camera-shy dabchick (little grebe) took ages to photograph as it dived every time I tried to focus on it. I ended up with plenty of blurred images or glimpses of tails and feet disappearing from view. Several photographer friends told me that they, too, find dabchicks a challenge. We decided that their fluffy little bodies confuse the automatic focus and it's better to focus on the head and eye to get the sharpest results.

This heron, photographed at the Barnes Wetland Centre, was looking mean and hungry. It wasn't too long before it struck lucky and speared a fish. They are magnificent birds to watch as they move stealthily along river banks and reedbeds, poised and ready to strike when they spot their preferred prey.

A result of my spoiling the garden birds with sunflower hearts is a garden full of sunflowers in the most unlikely places. We've had one grow and flower from a tiny gap in our decking and there are at least a dozen other sunflowers scattered around the garden. They're so lovely I haven't the heart to remove them even when they are in the wrong place.


Many of the islanders got excited on Monday when we saw Bidou and another black swan swimming upstream. We couldn't work out whether Bidou was chasing after the other swan to catch up with it or to chase it off. Sadly, the latter was true. We had all hoped that she had finally found at least a friend, or better still, a mate.


She calls by for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and takes time to preen her feathers every morning, except when the mute swan family see her off. She is an elegant looking swan but still seems nervous of us when feeding. She flinches when I throw her the wheat and snatches at the food nervously. Perhaps she had a bad experience when she was younger?


As the breeding season comes to a close and the ducks, swans and geese are going into moult, the mute swan family are slightly less aggressive with Bidou. Occasionally, the cygnets even allow her to feed alongside them. As you can see, if you've looked at my earlier postings, these two have grown considerably and are almost at the stage when their parents will chase them away and stop looking after them. Life can be so cruel!

Back from holidays and it must be summer!

Summer's arrived and the swallows have just started feeding their young

Mum & Dad are kept busy with the various mouths to feed

Waiting for more insects while catching the afternoon sun

This one seems to get all the attention . . . and the food!

We managed to avoid the worst of the downpours and floods while we were away in sunny Portugal but we came back to a garden that resembled a jungle! The combination of wet and warm weather had accelerated the growth of weeds as well a the plants though.

We were surprised and delighted by the appearance of about 20 swallows and laughed at the unsteadiness of the youngsters as the landed on the telephone lines. It was such a pleasure watching them but they were only here for two days and disappeared as suddenly as they had arrived.

Jay on the arch ready to grab some peanuts to feed its youngsters

The jays have also started bringing their brood to the garden, much to the annoyance of the magpies which also had youngsters to feed. The aerial battles and harsh cries made for interesting viewing.

Grab shot of a blackbird through the kitchen window

The male blackbird is quite happy to use the pond but the female is much more discreet and hides under the acer tree. We were amazed to see a her gather a huge beak-full of nesting material from dead leaves and grasses and fly off with it to a tall tree. I didn't think birds built nests so late in the season but perhaps she's making up for time lost due to bad weather. With her glossy brown feathers and the massive amount of dead grasses drooping from her beak she looked for all the world like a Mexican bandit with a moustache to be proud of.

We were surprised to see a lone duckling on Saturday evening. It had attached itself to some adult mallards but none of them seemed to want it and it looked more like the young of a tufted duck. Two massive crows swooped down to take it and it dived for cover but I don't suppose it lasted too long. Perhaps, if the blackbirds are nesting again, the ducks will have yet another attempt this year and we'll finally see some ducklings make it to adulthood?

One other surprise this week was the sight of a goldfinch in the garden. It spent time gathering insects and then came down to the pond for a drink. Typically, the camera wasn't to hand at the time so I'm hoping it will return.

More ducklings disappear

What a terrible year it's been for ducklings on this stretch of the river. The mother managed to keep three ducklings alive for a week and we were just beginning to hope that they might survive.

Two days ago she turned up with two ducklings and seemed distressed and kept calling out as if she expected the other one to suddenly appear.

Yesterday only one duckling remained and today there are none

It isn't just the ducks that are having a disastrous breeding season. The coots have had yet another nest destroyed and today, with the river in spate, we watched a tiny young coot get washed downstream and away from its parents. They are now trying to build a new nest on the same plank they've used before. Their two previous nests, complete with eggs, were destroyed by the wash from speeding boats and this one is definitely destined for failure.

Bidou continues to visit us daily but she seems so lonely without a mate. The mute swans chase her when they see her and to hear her mournful call is quite upsetting. You can listen to some of her more subdued calls, with a loud one to finish during a preening session. It's not her full repertoire. She sometimes makes an amazingly deep booming sound before the high notes!

A lovely red passion flower in a garden nearby

During recent torrential rain some of the garden birds took refuge in the bird table and we watched a duck in the garden make a dash for shelter under the Acer tree when the heavens opened!

Young greenfinches arrived this week and make such a fuss for their parents to feed them. They're very attractive and I'm hoping to get some images of them. Meanwhile, a baby woodpecker appeared yesterday and fought with a parakeet for its place on the peanuts. It was amazing to watch their spat and the woodpecker seemed to be winning but eventually was driven off by the parakeet.

Rain stopped play (and photographic opportunities) last week

Ducklings drawn to decoy

I wonder why this decoy duck is so popular? Previous ducklings have taken a liking to it and these two have had great fun climbing on and off it. Over the last seven days we've watched these two grow and were just beginning to feel optimistic about their survival until one went missing yesterday. So far we've only seen four Taggs Island ducklings survive this season! In fact, most of the water birds have had a bad breeding season. No baby coots have survived on the Molesey side of the river so far, the cygnets are down from five to two, the great crested grebe has only one youngster remaining and there's only one baby moorhen. Most of the deaths are through predation but the wash from boats has wiped out three coots' nests and all the eggs. Once again the Canada geese have proved themselves to be the best survivors!

Bidou taking time out to preen her feathers

Bidou is still with us and is a popular attraction on this stretch of the river. Lovely though she is some of us think that she must be lonely without a mate. She has such a haunting and pathetic call at times, especially when she is being chased by the mute swans with their cygnets. Yesterday, the dominant male mute swan caught Bidou unawares as she grazed for weed with her head underwater. She managed to escape but lost several tail feathers during the encounter.

More colourful than the flowers

A male mandarin duck shows off his magnificent plumage in one of my plant pots. He has taken to grubbing around under the flowers for tasty bugs and regularly vandalizes the plants, tearing off flowers and stems from the main plants with his sharp beak!

I'm a bird too!

This male mandarin duck and his partner have developed a taste for peanuts and are regular visitors to the bird table. The female prefers to feed from the lower tray and sometimes her balancing act makes us laugh out loud.

The parakeets have discovered the fig tree

Last year I had loads of figs and only had to contend with the starlings for the ripe ones but this year the parakeets have come mob handed and are already attacking the unripe fruits.

A beautiful iris to grace my new pond

I bought this iris at the Hampton Court Flower Show two years ago and love its delicate colours and texture. This year I bought a water lily and I'm hoping for some lovely deep pink flowers later in the season.

I wonder who ruffled his feathers?

This blackbird was busy collecting worms and grubs for its young and appeared to be fit enough but his plumage leaves something to be desired!

Some old photographs and footage of mink attacking cygnet

I've been away for a few days and therefore have no up to date news and photographs but here are some older images and some unusual footage of a mink biting a cygnet.

Red deer having a mad moment

I was watching some deer towards the end of the day last winter and after they had crossed a stream in the park they started to get frisky and playful. One of them began bucking and leaping around and another covered its antlers and head with dead bracken, They reminded me of cats when they have mad moments and chase their tails or climb furniture.

This heron caught my attention as it appeared to be taking a bow

Mute swans fighting over territorial rights

These two swans battled for supremacy for at least 10 minutes until one of them was vanquished. The victor tried to drown its opponent but eventually contented itself with following the exhausted opponent onto the river bank and standing on top of him. We thought the other swan must be dead but it remained supine for at least five minutes after the other swan had swam off with its mate and then slowly struggled further up the bank and started to preen its damaged feathers.

An early morning rower

One of the joys of living here is sitting in the comfort of my own home while being able to watch river life from our lounge and dining areas. This is a view downstream through our patio windows.

This is the rare footage of an American mink attacking a cygnet outside our house. This particular mink stayed in the area for over a year and became very used to us. They are incredibly bold creatures. He killed many waterfowl during the time he was here but I was able to save some ducks. If I heard him attacking a duck (he used to drag them underwater outside our door) I would grab the duck by its feet and start to pull it back up and the mink would immediately let go. He would then look at me reproachfully and I suppose, in reality, I was saving one duck but causing another to die a little later on.

The BBC Natural History Unit saw this clip and thought it was a set up but it was one of the many attacks we saw this, and subsequent minks make on the local wildfowl and fish!