Tag: breeding

May 3rd – Nearby, in Pleck, a sight curiously not seen often, which is odd considering the proliferation of Canada geese: A nest being sat by a parent. Interestingly, unlike a swan nest, I could see no obvious partner nearby. 

The sitter seemed comfortable, but the nest was much smaller than that of a swan. 

It’s be interesting to see when the new arrivals make an appearance. I’d guess they’ll be hatching soon.

May 13th – I’ve heard it said that geese will ‘babysit’ another mother’s brood while she’s busy. What else can explain the Catshill Canada geese suddenly acquiring three brighter yellow, younger chicks? That takes the clutch to 14, a startlingly high number which mum and dad seem to have trouble corralling into order!

May 6th – Another cheering thing was the discovery that the Watermead swan couple, nesting near the canoe centre in Brownhills, had finally hatched their clutch. Not huge this year at six cygnets, but not a poor showing either, it was lovely to see the little grey balls of fluff out learning how to feed with their parents. 

Squabbling, squeaking and flapping around, it’s impossible for these little birds to make you anything less than joyous.

I hope none are predated this year, but with the preponderance of foxes and herons, we may well lose young chicks in the coming week or two, and we should be prepared – most years one or two are lost.

Also, if you go to see these lovely creatures – and what better wildlife sight could you share with young kids – then feed them greens or seed, but not bread. Bread has no nutritional value to waterfowl and can cause health problems. They like garden peas and greens,. and always enjoy seed.

Go and see these wonderful little chaps while they’re young and fluffy!

April 11th – In the soft light of a windy but sunny afternoon, the canals are looking great; Here near Clayhanger Bridge the hedgerows and thickets are showing bright green and very, very fresh – but not just that, they’re as alive with songbirds as the waterway is with waterfowl.

Everywhere you look, the environment is teeming with life at the moment, either fresh new leaves, blossom or nesting birds. Such a joyous, beautiful time of year.

Just wish the wind would ease up a bit…

April 1st – While I’ve been obsessing over leaves and flowers, the canals have, as ever, been doing their own thing, and the birdlife is following it’s spring imperative.

Herons, scarcer during winter, are out and about again, and birds are nesting, from coots to the Watermead swan couple.

Everywhere, life if kicking off again for the coming summer, and I love every single sign of it.

March 19th – I thought today that it was time to check to see if the swans were nesting yet at the Watermead in Brownhills, where they’ve previously raised several successful clutches – and I was surprised and delighted to note that the swans had already rebuilt their nest, and one was sitting.

Swans here always seem to do well, even if they do present a hazard for the canoe club who get pecked if not careful; they get fed and the locals keep an eye on them to see if they’re OK. 

I shall look forward to watching another family hatch and grow on this stretch of canal over the coming months.

March 12th – I felt awful. Really bad, as if I had the mother and father of hangovers. I’d not had alcohol, and it could have been an MSG thing, but I was dehydrated and groggy. But I had to go out.

I called in at Shire Oak Park to check the frog pools to see if they’d mated there yet – if caught at the right time, that place is like toad soup but today, it was devoid of amphibia – but a heathy patch of spawn in each attested to the frog’s presence at some point.

I was interested in the difference in the frogspawn. I know that frogs produce globular ‘clumps’, and toads ribbons, but the frogspawn seemed to vary from the huge ones in my hand to tiny eggs the size of a small blackcurrant. I wonder why that is? Age and health of the female? Different types of frog?

Never noticed the variety in this stuff before.

May 13th – Returning to Brownhills, I noted the new families are arriving thick and fast. At Catshill junction, a pair of proud Canada geese with a huge brood of 13 goslings, all seeming in good health. At Silver Street, the Watermead swans have 9 cygnets – all busy little balls of grey fluff.

I love to see the waterfowl breeding, and the antics of the chicks.

May 9th – A big welcome, if you please, to the newest residents of Brownhills, seven swan chicks newly hatched in the last 24 hours or so to the swan couple who have been nesting at the Watermead, just near the Canoe Centre in Brownhills.

The 7 fluffy hatchlings were active, and seemed fit, although I think there may have originally been eight, as I think in some photos there appears to be a lifeless one in the nest. But seven survivors is a good number, and if they can get through the next week or so without being lunch for predators, they’ll be just fine.

Mum and dad were showing their brood off beautifully, and the Canoe people are avoiding them – out of respect for wildlife and also out of pecking distance of the Cob! 

We can expect to lose a few of these fluffy chaps – we lost one of the eight at Catshill last year – as at this stage, they’re vulnerable to mustelids, foxes, rats and even herons – which is just natural.

So if you can, get down and have a look at these delightful birds. Please don’t feed them bread, however, as it’s bad for them. There’s plenty of natural food and they’re foraging well.