Archives: May 2006
Wed May 31, 2006
The same Swan was....
The same Swan as below was back on the Slea today, this makes me think that his mate is sitting on a nest somewhere and he is whiling the time away :)
I have today seen 1 baby coot and 1 baby moorhen (not the same 1 as earlier this month) on the Slea and hope for a few more soon :)
Terry
[0] comments (129 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Sun May 28, 2006
I have not seen the...
I have not seen the baby Moorhen for 4 days so sadly have to come to the conclusion that he/she is not around anymore :( I have seen 1 baby coot and hope for a couple more soon :) I also saw the fish at Cogglesford that Graham had reported earlier, I think the gold one is a Koi and I have been told the large black fish are carp and the smaller sleaker ones are Roach.
Terry
[0] comments (126 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Thu May 25, 2006
A Swan droped in today...
A Swan droped in today on the Slea, I saw it go towards Cogglesford so waited on the bend hoping it would take off and after about 25 minutes it ran down the river, took off and disapeared.
From its beak pattern I am certain that it is 1 of the pair that were on the Slea earlier in the year. It was on its own so I am not sure if something has happened to its mate or if it was just having an away day. If the pair mated they could have cygnets now or more likely she is on the nest and he was just passing time :)
Terry
PS I didnt see the baby Moorhen today but they can hide away quite easily so I am not too worried yet.
[0] comments (123 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Tue May 23, 2006
Two more pictures from today...
Two more pictures from today, first a Grey Wagtail...
...and recycling Moorhens...
Terry
[0] comments (117 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Two Tufties...
Two Tufted Ducks were on the Slea this morning, it would be nice if they stayed and nested here...
...the baby Moorhen is also still around with its one remaining parent looking after it and feeding it :)
Terry
[0] comments (124 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Fri May 19, 2006
Ok this is not the River Slea but...
Ok this is not the river Slea but I bet these are Mallards *FROM* the River Slea. I got back from town and found these 3 in my garden pond which is only about 8 foot by 10 foot at its widest/longest...
...actually Mallards are one of my favourite birds(ducks) because they are so funny and this just shows how funny they are (at least to me) :) :) :)
Terry
[0] comments (126 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Tue May 16, 2006
They are barcoding all the nests now...
Someone is barcoding all the nests on the Slea - LOL ...
...actually this is a common occurance, I have seen Coots try and weave a crisp packet into their nest, but its still rubish that has gotten into the river one way or another :(
This Jackdaw is in disguise but I still recognised him even with that false mustache :) ...
The solitary baby moorhen is still around and being looked after by mum and dad :) :) :)
Terry
[0] comments (135 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Mon May 15, 2006
Have the mink moved on....
I wonder if the Mink have moved on (hope so) as the Miller told me today that he hadnt heard of any sightings for a couple of weeks :)
The single baby Moorhen was still around and being fed by mum and dad :)
The weather was too bad to even get my camera out today :(
Terry
[0] comments (138 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Fri May 12, 2006
Speeding duckling...
This duckling should have been pulled over for speeding - LOL
...the 1 remaining moorhen baby is still around :)
Terry
PS the above duckling is the only surviving 'white' duckling from earlier in April (see below). Of the original 12 ducklings in this family only 3 have survived but all three are doing well and quite large now.
[2] comments (543 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Thu May 11, 2006
Moorhens canoodleing...
2 moorhens canoodleing the other day...
Terry
[0] comments (131 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Wed May 10, 2006
Robin...
Just a shot of the Robin near Lollycocks field...
.jpg)
Terry
[0] comments (128 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Tue May 09, 2006
Water Vole
I saw my first water vole of the year on the Slea today, near to the leisure centre...
...I could only see 1 baby moorhen today, yesterday there were 4 :( I watched mum and dad feed the youngster and they did not look for any others so I dont think I just missed seeing them :( but I will still keep my eye out for them when I go down again 'just in case'.
Terry
[0] comments (654 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Mon May 08, 2006
This morning I saw...
This morning I saw 4 baby moorhens which are the first little ones of any species, apart from ducks, that I have seen on the Slea this year :)
The small number of ducklings remaining from the early hatchers are now quite big, the family (below - 13th April) who originally had 12 ducklings looks like only 3 survived, I also havnt seen their mum with them for weeks so the males probably had something to do with that :(
Terry
[0] comments (134 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks
Thu May 04, 2006
I hate this time of year...
I hate this time of year, it should be one of happiness for all the new life on the Slea BUT the male Mallards spoil it by gang raping the females and often drowning them making any ducklings orphans, also if the ducklings are only a couple of days old they will perish as well :(
I 'saved' this female today...
...she was attacked and mounted by 2 males and then two more joined in, her head was under water for what seemed like a long time and they were on the opposite side of the river to me. The only thing I could do was to throw grass at the males which to my surprise scared 2 off. The female managed to get out of the water but still had 1 male on top of her and they were pursued by the other 1. I crossed over the leisure centre bridge as fast as possible to try and scared the last 2 males away. 1 male disappeared before I got there as he had had his bit of 'fun' and the other one soon went as well. How long this female will last with all the males that are on the Slea I dont know. The Miller told me he had seen 2 dead females and we both thought that they would have been drowned by a number of males trying to mate with them all at once.
If there is reincarnation and you get a choice I would not advise anyone to come back as a female mallard as they really do get a rough deal from the males :(
This is why I tend not to go down the Slea so often in May, by June the male hormones seem to settle down.
Terry
[0] comments (131 views) | [0] Trackbacks [0] Pingbacks