Life On The Slea (LOTS)

Today there were 3 dead ducks and a dead pigeon floating in the Slea near Cogglesford Mill which is VERY unusual, I wonder if someone has been taking pot shots at the wildlife, if they are I hope they shoot themselves by mistake (or on purpose I don’t really mind which). I have no proof that it is an air gun but it seems the most likely scenario to me

I did get a VERY good view of the Kingfisher this morning, the river past the Mill is deeper with all the overnight rain and is deep enough now (but for how long) for Kingy to dive for fish without getting his beak stuck in the river bottom. Here he is with a fish he caught this morning…

I think this is a male as males have black underneath the bottom beak, but there is just a hint of orange so I am not 100% certain.

Terry

There was NOTHING on Lollyocks pond this morning, not even the 2 teenager Moorhens it looked just like it had been abandoned, hopefully the Moorhens were just hanging around somewhere nearby.

I did see the (a) Kingfisher this morning though, its the first time I have seen him for weeks, but that isnt surprising as the water below Cogglesford Mill is too shallow in losts of places for him to dive without his beak being embedded in the Slea river bed.

Terry

Two bits of good news….

1. I saw BOTH teenager Moorhens on Lollycocks pond today, so they are both still ok and 1 must have been having a laugh at my expense by hiding over the last week or so

2. I saw this also today, so he/she is still around…

… Allan also saw it so its not just a figment of my imagination He/she was a little nervous when we stopped nearby but didnt try to hide so I think where ever he came from he has seen humans before.

Terry

WAHOO, I saw a dabchick on the Slea today this is the first sighting for me this year. Ironically its also a year this week since we lost all but 1 Dabchick because of detergent getting into the river and washing all the protective oils from the Dabchicks (and everything else’s – Ducks Moorhens, Coots) which caused their death by drowning A reminder…

So to see a dabchick back was very welcome.

I only saw 1 teenager Moorhen on the Pond so I am beginning to think we have lost the other one, however I have not given up hope as I also only saw 1 adult, so I am hoping the others were hiding somewhere.

Also saw just the 1 Common Lizard.

Terry

I only saw 1 of the baby (now teenager) Moorhens on the pond but they can hide quite well there so I am not unduly worried at the moment about the other one. I shall keep my eye out to try and see 2 whenever I go down the Slea.

I also saw 3 of the Common Lizards

A dog went into the river in a place where they often go, it jumped back a bit and when it got out its foot was bleeding, on closer inspection of where he went in the water revealed a broken bottle The dog was obviously in pain as it didnt want to put any weight on the cut paw and kept stopping and licking it. I just wish the person who threw the bottle into the river had stepped on it instead of the dog.

Here is a Bee from a few weeks ago…

Terry

The 2 baby Moorhens on Lollycocks pond are still doing very well, they have certainly grown since I saw them last week. Nobody has seen the Tufted Duck for a couple of weeks so it looks like she has flown. Everything else much as it was. Someone said to me that there were not many male Mallards about, i explained that they were in eclipse (molting) and that the males just have the colouring of females at the moment, they will soon be back to their normal plumage.

There were 3 Common Lizards near the railway bridge today, here is one of them but this is about 6-7 bigger than they are in real life…

Terry

The weather forecast said rain stopping by 9am and then starting again at 11am, but I got soaked by 9:30

I did have time to see the 2 baby Moorhens on the pond so they are still doing well, I didnt see Tufty but I assume she is still around. Not much else as I had to shorten my walk because of the rain.

A woodpecker from my trip to Finland…

Terry