Tag: Brownhills

June 19th – Returning from work I noted the Catshill Canada goose commune which appears to consist of two inseparable families was thriving. They don’t seem to have lost any of the goslings, and the older set are developing apace now, losing their mousey fluff and growing adult plumage, and the first wing feathers.

They have healthy appetites and are healthy, busy birds.

I noticed not far up the bank Mrs. Mallard with her newly hatched brood, which may well be her second set of the summer.

She was very proud and relaxed. I love to follow these little families on the canal.

June 11th – On a post repair test ride, bad news.

The Watermead swan family are now down to five from the original six. The remaining cygnets looked healthy and well though.

Most likely the victim of a hungry fox, it’s normal to lose a cygnet or two to predators in every urban clutch – we’ve been lucky in recent years to be relatively unscathed, but one has to remember the prodigious clutch sizes of these birds and consider that maybe some population control is natural.

When the youngsters start ground roosting separately as opposed to in a protective huddle, they are easy prey to Reynard and hopeful, the loss has been a warning to the remaining five.

Sad, so very sad – but it’s nature, red in tooth and claw.

June 8th – Passing Catshill Junction on my way to Brownhills High Street on my return home, I noticed the Canada goose family was resting near to Chandlers Keep, on the unused side of the bridge.

Curiously, there’s still two broods there mixed together, with three young chicks than the main group, but they’re all growing now, but clearly not to large to form a cuddle puddle for warmth and safety.

I’m fascinated by their tiny, nascent wings. It’s never really occurred to me before, but it’s some months before waterfowl can fly – and I’ve never seen geese or swans learning to do so. That must be a thing worth watching…

June 4th – A spin through Brownhills on a dull, rain-spotted afternoon reminded me that it was the flowering time of summer. Everywhere I went, copious flowers either wild of in gardens, beautiful colours just waiting to be seen.

Near Newtown on the canal, a white foxglove was keeping the bees busy and near the old railway line on Brownhills Common wildflowers were decorating and hiding the remains of the rail line here with admirable efficiency.

And then, in front of the Parkview Centre, what was once Brownhills Council House, a remarkable flowerbed that I believe is tended by volunteers. It’s a lovely thing and looks absolutely superb.

On behalf of Brownhills, I’d like to congratulate and thank whoever the gardeners are for their hard and skilful work. Thank you.

June 3rd – I rode out on an annual pilgrimage – to the Klondyke Mill steam fair at Draycott in the Clay near Sudbury, and had a great afternoon of very English entertainment. From there, the afternoon was pleasant enough so I headed for Scropton, Tutbury, Rolleston, Horninglow, SInai Park, Tatenhill, Barton and then home via Walton upon Trent, Croxall and Whittington. A nice 68 miler in decent warm and sunny weather, topped off by a beautiful sunset over Brownhills as I returned home. 

The day was great, the little villages sublime and the golden hour – haunted by the blackest, most threatening cloud was superb.

May 30th – Coming back into Brownhills and passing the appropriately named Catshill Junction, the local neighbourhood watch was on duty, doing what it does best.

Watching the neighbourhood.

Mainly for birds, I think, but I couldn’t actually see the focus of peeping Tom’s attention. But I do think this captures the feline spirit well. Bless – it never paid me any attention at all.

May 28th – I set out on a sunny afternoon to pay a visit to Fazeley floating market, and on the way, hopped on the canal from Brownhills to Newtown to see if I could spot the Watermead swan family, just to see how they were doing.

I found them, unusually, near Anchor bridge; still six cygnets in umber and mum and dad still very, very attentive – but my, they’re growing – and they’ll soon be losing that characteristic fluffiness.

Nice to see the family prospering.

May 27th – I was busy all day and escaped after nightfall for a spin around Brownhills in the dark; it had been squally all day with a strong wind, and the weather was finally calming. 

It’s new camera time again and I’ve been loaned a new Canon SX730 to try out – for a brand new model 40x zoom compact I’m not terribly impressed. It loves bright sunlight, but as these images show, the night performance on automatic is woeful. There are not many helpful scene modes either like the Panasonics or Nikons I’m used to. For a £400 camera I’m not terrifically impressed, if I’m honest. The user interface is horrific, too.

Build quality is decent, though, it has to be said, but again, I think I find myself leaning to the new Lumix even though it has less zoom.

Cameras, like bicycles, are never quite just what you want.

May 24th – Sorry for the surfeit of wildfowl chick photos, but the families are fascinating me more than usual this year, and they make a lovely distraction from some of the awful events in the human world.

The Canada goose family at Catshill Junction is thriving, with the goslings growing every time I see them. This week they have very nearly doubled in size, and as they grow larger, they’ll be out of prey range for most predators. This group have fared well, and still number 12 chicks.

I love to see this little guys dozing. You can’t not adore them.

May 20th – I popped out for a short run on shopping errands to Brownhills, in a gap in the rain. I caught up with the watered swan family on the ramp between the Canoe Centre and the basin on the corner – the youngsters, still numbering six, were lounging and taking naps under the watchful eye of mum and dad.

The adults weren’t at all aggressive with me, so they must be getting used to the human attention, but I was glad of the zoom to keep me out of pecking range.

It’s clearly very tiring work, being cute.