Nightlife, not wildlife - it's festival time again!

One of the Dele Sosimi dancers at the World Music Festival in Sines

It's that time of year again and we're back in Portugal enjoying the sights, sounds and scenic backdrops of Porto Covo and Sines to enjoy an eclectic mix of musical talent from around the globe. The first three nights of the festival (Festival Musicas do Mundo 2009) were held at the lovely coastal resort of Porto Covo.

Dele Sosimi from Nigeria

Typically there are three very different acts per night at Porto Covo. This year the selection included O'QUESTRADA from Portugal, RUPA & THE APRIL FISHES from USA and CIRCO ABUSIVO from Italy on the first night. VICTOR DÉMÉ (Burkina Faso), THE UKRANIANS (UK) and DELE SOSIMI AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA (Nigeria/UK) worked their magic on the second night at Porto Covo. The third night showcased WYZA (Angola), ORQUESTA TIPICA FERNANDEZ FIERRO (Argentina) and DAARA J FAMILY (Senegal).

Below are images from the various acts at Porto Covo.

Dele Sosimi brass section

Dele Sosimi

Steff Trymruk - The Ukrainians

Len Liggins

All the above - The Ukrainians

Back stage at Porto Covo

Trinca Espinhas, a lovely beach restaurant between Sines and Porto Covo

Families of all ages come to eat at the beach side food stalls in Sines

Sines beach at dusk

Vasco Da Gama was a native of Sines. His statue dominates the area close to the castle

The concert arena in Porto Covo only yards from the sea (above) and one of the delightful sandy coves a short walk from the arena (below)

This is an example of the first three days and we're here for ten. More to follow . . .

Farewell to Goldeneye and several other female ducks

The last picture I took of Goldeneye before she disappeared

Sadly, I have to presume the worst as regards my old friend Goldeneye. I haven't seen her for weeks since the night her nest was disturbed and she normally returns to visit after a few days away if she's been frightened. What Dave probably saw in the early hours of the morning when we were woken by her alarm calls, was a fox carrying her off. She's been with us for a good few years now and I shall miss having her and Gobi around. Mrs. Speckles has also vanished, presumed dead but, at least I was able to save Lonely from drowning, when she was being attacked by seven males at once. She still visits regularly but times her arrival carefully when there are no males about.

The Cygnets are growing up

Last week the swans turned up with only six cygnets and I thought it odd that one might have disappeared, considering the size they now are. However, all seven arrived for supper and they are all now showing signs of independence from Mum and Dad. In a few months they'll be driven away if they don't drift off of their own accord!

Female Mandarin duck dozing on our railing

This female, who's leg is tagged, spends much of her time with us at the moment. She's very tame and stays close to the front door when she wants to be fed. This is the first year that we've had a Mandarin duck spending so much time with us.

Four of seven baby coots

Coots are great parents, generally speaking, though we have seen some peck their own youngsters to death, presumably because they recognize that the young one isn't going to survive. These parents are fearless in their defense of their young, seeing off Canada geese as well as ducks of all kinds. Only the swans seem to stop them in their tracks. Last week a cat managed to reach their nest and carried off one of the babies, much to the distress of both parents. There are still six youngsters and they are growing rapidly. They look so funny with their ridiculous 'punk' red and yellow heads.

Young Great Tit asking to be fed

This youngster made quite a racket in the garden as it followed its parents around demanding regular food. It's almost as big as its parents but appears so helpless when it opens its beak and flutters its wings.

Sunset on the homeward stretch of river

We've been out in the boat most evenings as the weather has been lovely and the sky looked so attractive as we turned the corner of Taggs Island and headed for home the other night. We love our evening trips as the river is quiet and peaceful.

Sunset on Taggs at the upstream end

Hampton Church with the sailing club in the foreground

A view of our garden last month

The garden deck looking towards Hurst Park

Astoria being towed past Taggs Island

The houseboat, Astoria, originally belonged to Fred Karno who owned the Karsino on Taggs Island. This elegant Edwardian houseboat is now owned by David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd) and is normally moored upstream of Taggs Island on an attractive stretch of river beyond Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare.

Astoria on the move

Astoria on its way back from Huck's Boatyard

Successes and Failures

The swans have seven cygnets

This year the dominant swans have done well again, hatching seven cygnets and, so far, managing to raise them all. The previous dominant pair were hopeless parents, taking their newly hatched cygnets over the weir several years running. Those the heron didn't help itself to, the dominant swans on the lower stretch of the river attacked and killed.

Greater spotted woodpecker (image by Chris Wittenberg)

The woodpeckers also reared at least one youngster though it was almost as big as its parents when I last saw it accept food from them at the nest entrance. The tell tale signs of nest building could be seen at the base of the sycamore tree! Over the last few days we've heard and seen the parents flying to and fro with beak-fulls of insects and we've spotted at least one youngster. Our neighbour, Chris, managed to take the lovely image of one of the adults at the nest.

This persistent mandarin duck failed to impress

We get three or four pairs of mandarin ducks at the moment and this 'spare' male did his best to persuade one of the females to abandon her partner. Somehow his pose didn't quite do it for us either - not so much dashing as daft!

Silverduck enjoys a quiet five minutes in the pond

Silverduck managed to shake off some of the marauding males that lie in wait to attack the female ducks when they turn up to feed and she had a good five minutes to herself in our pond.

Our neighbours, Sue and Peter, successfully released the three ducklings we helped rescue and they are now part of a larger family. Sue and Peter's own 'mother duck' adopted several ducklings and then our three, and is now the proud mother of eleven ducklings. We sometimes see them all on Duck Ait, an island just upstream from us, where they separate into distinct groupings. Our three tend to stay together slightly apart from the others and there's always one duckling that doesn't snuggle up with the rest.

The pair of pochards never brought any youngsters to visit so I assume they were taken by predators. We were surprised to see another male turn up the other day, much to the annoyance of Madame, who did her best to see him off. Her mate didn't seem too bothered by the intruder, however.

We finally found out for sure that it's the magpie that has been raiding the nest boxes. When the ducks aren't there it's been dragging out the straw and pecking into the eggs. Poor Goldeneye lost four eggs to this remarkably intelligent thief and has been guarding her nest for most of the day for the past few days. Last night we heard a commotion and Goldeneye fled her nest and squawked for ages nearby. Dave saw something slope off down the deck at speed in the dark but he was unable to identify whether it was a fox or not. The eggs were still all there this morning but we've seen no sign of Goldeneye. We're sure she survived the attack but she may have abandoned her eggs (again). Like Mrs. Speckles before her she's been regularly attacked by males while occupying this nest box. On the subject of Mrs. Speckles, we haven't seen her for at least 10 days and I'm concerned that she might been attacked once too often! I just hope she hasn't drowned.

Chives in the herb bed

The chives have been magnificent this year and attract a large number of bees. I'm glad to see plenty of bees in the garden; I do my best to make the garden bee and butterfly friendly and never use chemicals.

Part of the garden at dusk

The scent of roses and syringa (mock orange blossom) fills the air as one walks down the garden path. Red cabbages grow amongst the flowers in this part of the garden. Elsewhere there are beans, peas, carrots, radishes, chard, lettuces, tomatoes, potatoes and herbs. The soft fruit is looking good, too, and the cherry and fig trees have a healthy crop. The biggest surprise, though, is the size of the strawberries. I've never seen such massive fruits in my garden.

The mallard that can't count!

Out of the nest, into the river, and up the ramp!

All seven newly hatched ducklings make it back into the garden

Newly hatched ducklings in Sue & Peter's garden

Several days after taking on the responsibility of rearing three orphaned ducklings, Peter phoned to say that 'their' mallard, who'd seemed quite interested in the 'ready made' family, had just hatched her own seven ducklings. I went over immediately just as she was leading them to the river. After swimming around for a few minutes, she led them up a purpose built ramp back into the garden, where they nestled against the netting placed around the three rescue ducklings to protect them from predation.

The newly hatched ducklings alongside the rescue ducklings

The youngsters were immediately drawn to the rescue ducklings and nestled up close to them while 'mother' rested for a while. In the evening, the mallard led her ducklings to a safe haven overnight but returned with only five ducklings the following morning. To the amazement of Peter and Sue, however, she later acquired four more ducklings! Meanwhile, she seemed drawn to the rescue ducklings and every evening it took ages for her to lead her family to safety upstream torn, it seemed, between her own family and the three rescued youngsters. Sue thinks that if she allows them to mix the mallard might attack the older ducklings, but she might consider taking the risk when the youngsters are a little older.

Half an hour old and already at home in the makeshift duckling pond

Time to leave the nest

The robins in our carport nest box had been busy all hours feeding their youngsters and finally the day came for the fledglings to leave the nest. We did our best not to disturb them but the box is next to where we park our car. However, the birds weren't the least bit bothered by our comings and goings. This one was reluctant to take flight but we assume it managed to leave the nest eventually.

We were a bit disappointed to have no bluetits nesting in their box (also in the carport) this year, or so we thought! Yesterday, however, to our surprise we saw a bluetit with a beakful of bugs, flying into the nestbox. They've been very secretive until now. This morning the parents have been busy catching insects for their young before heading for the nest.

A brief moment of affection

Coots aren't renowned for their harmonious lifestyle. In fact they are querulous creatures more often involved in domestic disputes than any of the other waterfowl. This display of affection, didn't last for long, and they were soon squabbling about whose turn it was to groom the other.

Bidou's nest

When Bidou, the black swan, needs to feed she has to leave her nest unattended because there's no mate to take her place and protect the eggs. It looks like there are four goose eggs in with her own eggs. It seems highly unlikely that these will hatch now and she is spending longer periods of time away from her nest. The mute swans that started nesting at the same time as Bidou have seven beautiful cygnets (photos to follow).

Meanwhile, after a break from failed parenthood, our two female mallards are nesting again. Mrs. Speckles (with four eggs now) has returned to her former nestbox but Goldeneye has decided to lay two eggs in the newer of the two boxes on our garden deck. Perhaps she doesn't like being watched by Dave when he sits at the computer! The puzzle is that both ducks occasionally wander into each other's nests and this morning, the duck siting in Mrs. Speckles' box didn't look like Mrs. Speckles at all.

Where have all the ducklings gone?

The three rescued ducklings

Thanks to Sue Beck and Peter, these three ducklings have more chance of survival than all the others. They are being kept warm and safe indoors at night, and allowed an element of freedom during the day in a pen that's netted on top to protect them from marauding crows, magpies and herons. There is an unexpected complication, however. A female mallard that is sitting on a nest close by seems to have decided to adopt a ready made family rather than hatch her own eggs. She keeps leaving her nest to spend time with the ducklings and Sue has to 'shoo her away' and encourage her to return to her nest. Her eggs are due to hatch in a few days' time.

Bidou taking a break from her nest

I think the eggs should have hatched by now and I'm not optimistic that Bidou will have any cygnets after all her time and effort! Perhaps, one day, she'll find a male black swan to settle with. So far she hasn't taken to any of the black swans we have seen pass through the area.

Mandarin ducks getting annoyed with a pidgeon

A number of wood pidgeons visit the garden and they are becoming quite aggressive. I'm amazed to see that the ducks seem scared of them and let the pidgeons 'hog' the wheat while they stand back, unsure of themselves. The Mandarin ducks are less inclined to be bullied by a mere pidgeon and fight back . . . and even, sometimes, win!

Deer in Richmond Park

I met up with a friend in nearby Richmond Park during the week and had forgotten just how lovely it is. Unlike Bushy Park, which is across the road from Taggs Island, Richmond Park is vast and hilly and has many interesting aspects.

A stream in Richmond Park

The park has a beautiful garden called The Isabella Plantation and at this time of year it is more stunning than usual, a blaze of colour from the many azaleas and rhododendrums. It's very popular with visitors, but somehow it never feels over-crowded.

Mrs. Speckles looking bedraggled

Poor Mrs. Speckles has had a horrendous time of it since she started to nest. She has lost many feathers and is bald in places where she has been attacked on her nest and dragged from it by various 'rogue' males. Her partner is hopeless and hasn't defended her. As I mentioned in my previous brief blog, her last remaining egg turned up on the table of our motor boat cracked but with a formed duckling inside. We think she must have attempted to carry it from the nest because it was damaged. Either that, or one of the drakes 'stole' it and dropped it on our boat. We have no idea what could have happened to all the straw that lined her nest. She may have eaten some of it when she was sitting on her eggs but surely not all of it? She has been back to the nest several times as if to check and make sure that there's nothing left.

Goldeneye on the day her ducklings hatched

I spoke too soon when I mentioned that Goldeneye appeared to be taking her motherly duties more seriously. By Wednesday only two ducklings remained and they seemed to know that the nest box was safe when their mother wasn't around. However, it was as if Goldeneye got bored with the whole concept of motherhood, and she left the ducklings for hours on their own. By late afternoon on Thursday only one duckling remained and Goldeneye left it swimming around on its own while she and Gobi had a 'nap'. The last I saw of the duckling it was running around our neighbour's garden while a magpie watched with interest!

Goldeneye with the first duckling out of the nest

Goldeneye had problems persuading the ducklings to leave the nest. Several of them waddled or slithered down the plank but the rest were reluctant to emerge so Goldeneye had to keep going back to the box to encourage them out.

Goldeneye checks all around to see whether it's safe to lead the ducklings from the nest box

There are many false starts before all the ducklings emerge from the box. It's great fun to watch but, if her previous form is anything to go by, none survive more than a few days. This year she had lost them all in five days. To see their 'launch' click on the link in the blog entitled "The ducklings are hatching".

On Thursday, the day Goldeneye lost her final duckling, Lonely's brood hatched and she took over Goldeneye's nursery box that evening. Mrs. Speckles' nest was abandoned on Wednesday but became a brief refuge for two ducklings the next day. We think they belonged to Lonely who hatched 10 ducklings but only had five by the following morning.

Since Friday, there have been many comings and goings in the two waterside nest boxes but no takers. The female we call Silverduck has investigated both boxes and has also spent time on our garden deck checking out Goldeneye's nest box and some of my plant pots. Much to our surprise, Goldeneye has also been back to check on her box - it probably won't be long before she starts nesting all over again!