Archives: June 2006
Thu Jun 29, 2006
I was attacked by...
I was attacked by a Moorhen this morning - LOL. When I wander down the riverbank of the Slea sometimes a particular Moorhen races across the river takes off and lands near my feet knowing that I have some food for it. This morning I was just looking at the river taking in what wildlife was around when something struck me on the shoulder, it was a Moorhen - LOL - I dont know if he/she was trying to land on my shoulder or just got the approach wrong as I know Moorhens can be a little ungainly in the air. Anyway he then made it to the ground and I then fed him/her with a little extra for the 'close encounter' which I really appreciated :)
The four little Moorhens are still doing well as is the baby coot, although all 5 of these are probably more like 'teenagers' in their growth now. I also saw the other little Moorhen further upstream and also the 4 Moorhens down past Cogglesford Mill towards the railway.
This Pidgeon took off in front of me this morning so I had to try and get it in flight...
Terry
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Wed Jun 28, 2006
Interesting Moorhen behaviour...
I saw some interesting Moorhen behaviour yesterday and today, the 4 Moorhen babies are getting quite big now and do feed themselves as well as mum and dad also helping out. However yesterday and today mum (or dad) somtimes attacked the little ones, probably not too harshly but the little ones still knew about it and one had to duck under the water to get away. What I think is happening (if you know differently please let me know) is that mum and dad are trying to stop the little ones from begging for food and 'encouraging' them to hunt for their own. I know Coots sometimes do this but didnt know Moorhens did ???
I also saw another little Moorhen with its mum and dad further upstream and also 4 babies down stream past Cogglesford Mill with their mum and dad.
A pair of Magpies nested in a tree near Cogglesford and I saw 4 together today so it looks like they have had 2 young, although someone else told me they had seen 5, so perhaps they had 3 youngsters.
The solitary baby Coot is also doing very well, it is now quite big but mum and dad still feed it at the moment.
Duck and Trout at the Hub today...
Terry
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Sat Jun 24, 2006
Am I going doolaly...
Am I going Doolally (dont answer that :)... I saw a baby Moorhen in the weir by Cogglesford Mill so obviously thought it was 1 of the 4 babies that had gone over the weir and couldnt get back. I went home to get a biiiiiiig net to try and capure him and return him to safety and his parents, but it was nowhere in sight. A little later I saw ALL 4 of the babies near Cogglesford, so it was not one of them. There are no other baby moorhens in that area so I can only presume it was a baby from below the weir that just had a swim a little upstream to have a look at the weir and then went back ??????
The only baby coot is still doing well and I have been told (but havnt seen it myself) that there is also another baby Moorhen much further upstream towards the Hub.
Terry
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Tue Jun 20, 2006
Baby Moorhen...
Here is one of the baby Moorhens today...
...I only saw 2 of them today but they can be hard to spot sometimes so they are probably still all ok. The baby coot was also doing well :)
Terry
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Mon Jun 19, 2006
The only baby coot...
The only baby coot on the Sleaford stretch of the Slea is growing well as can be seen...
...the 4 baby Moorhens are also still doing well, but this year seems to have been a bad year for the wildlife to me :( especially without any Swans and cygnets.
Terry
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Fri Jun 16, 2006
3 ducklings...
3 ducklings have obviously gone over the weir at Cogglesford and cant get back, I was told they were there yesterday also. The problem is that if they keep trying to get back to the river by the weir they will eventually get all their oils washed off the feathers and eventually drown. Their mum was also nearby but has other ducklings also. I had a plan to try and lure them away from the weir and go into the river (its very shallow there) and make sure they cant go back to the weir and try and persuade them (with food) to climb the bank to get back. Helped by another person we got the ducklings past the lock but mum came and they followed her back to the weir. To cut a long story short we again managed to get the ducklings and mum past the lock but then the 3 ducklings just carried on going down stream and mum reluctantly followed them. If they stay down stream (with or without mum) they will be ok as they are old/big enough to survive quite easily. The worry is that mum will entice them back to the weir with all the dangers that that entails.
A duckling today doing a wing flex...
Terry
PS I also saw the baby coot and probably 3 of the baby moorhens but suspect that the 4th was nearby somewhere.
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Wed Jun 14, 2006
We still have...
We still have 4 baby moorhens and 1 baby coot so hopefully these will all survive, we also still have a chance of some more Moorhens but only time will tell.
A duckling today having a scratch...
Terry
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Sun Jun 11, 2006
I do not understand...
I do not understand how a 'local organisation' can decide that this is the correct time of year to take rubish out of the river by boat and canoe ????? I told them that there was a moorhens nest in the middle of the river and they said they would be careful. A lillte later I also had to point out that they were dirctly next to another moorhens nest as their oars were only about a foot away from it. It is good that someone decides to clear up the river but these few months (April-July) are the worst time possible because of all the nests and little ones - I cant believe that this organisation just seems to do things without realising there may be consequences to their actions however well they are meant.
We still have 4 baby moorhens and 1 baby coot but I think I saw a baby moorhen in another nest so perhaps we will see him/her and hopefully some siblings soon.
The baby coot today...
Terry
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Fri Jun 09, 2006
We now have 4....
We now have 4 baby moorhens...
...and we have 1 baby coot, I would have expected more baby coots from the nesting pair but the longer time goes by without another one hatching the less likely it is that we will get another one :(
Terry
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