May 4th – Nice to see a new year’s worth of youngsters on the canal: Goslings and ducklings compete to out-cute each other, guarded closely by their attentive parents.
There are cygnets, too, apparently although I’ve yet to see any of the local families, which is a bit remiss of me.
A beautiful, cheering thing.
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April 26th – Second attempt to sort the noisy bottom bracket appears to have worked. It’s true what they say, you’re never alone with a square taper chainset…
On a test run, I encountered this female mallard. Not a happy bird, it had settled on Coopers Bridge and was defying me to pass.
Unusual for mallards, as whilst fearsomely vicious to other ducks, and occasionally their own clutches, they are generally affable to anything else.
There was a bit of a Mexican standoff. Then she clearly remembered she was a duck, and flapped and honked her way back to the water, leaving the confused cyclist wondering what that was all about…
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March 24th – As I get older and wiser I realise that mallard ducks are just loud, shouty idiots with very unpalatable mating habits.
Here on the canal at Walsall Wood on my way to work, two males were competitively battling each other to mate with a female.
They were fighting for some time and the noise and disruption was considerable. Interesting that a coot seemed to be refereeing.
We are now under some kind of lockdown – I can only got to work if I can’t from home, or if I am a ‘key worker’; I can have some exercise every day and got to the shops. Most everything else is restricted or banned.
Unless you’re a duck. Then any old shit goes.
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September 6th – It’s easy to overlook the ubiquitous, humble mallard duck, but they are most beautiful birds if one looks closely.
This female spotted at Clayhanger overflow lives perfectly happily on the canal, and is usually seen loafing with others in a loose social grouping.
The plumage is actually really detailed complete with the underwing blue stripe.
I’m convinced that were they not so common, we’d cherish these affable, indolent birds a lot more than we do.
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August 10th – I’d not been well overnight, and ventured out in the afternoon for a gentle bimble. On the canalside near the Pier Street Bridge, I came across mama mallard and her second brood, still doing well, snuggled together in the grass.
Their patient tolerance and perceptible pride made a welcome change from the constant haranguing of the cCanada Geese and swans when trying to get photos.
A lovely little family that cheered me no end.
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July 24th – Lots of waterfowl are on second clutches of the season now; a tiny minority possibly on their third.
At Bentley Bridge on the Walsall Canal this delightful clutch of ducklings, maybe a few days old, proudly watched over by mum.
A beautiful sight.
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April 15th – Always nice to spot the first mallard chicks of the season and these today were spotted near Bently Bridge in Darlaston.
Clearly new hatchlings, these energetic and busy little ducklings followed mum as she puttered in the reeds. There seemed to be 12 in total, but it was difficult to keep count with several stragglers!
You know it’s spring when the ducklings arrive…
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March 4th – You need to turn the sound up for this one.
I was returning from work early for me, before it was dark. Passing the new pond in Clayhanger, a couple of swans landed out of sight on the water, then took flight again. The geese, mallards and other waterfowl were clearly not happy about something.
There even seems to be what I think might be an owl shouting to them to keep the noise down!
I love the sounds of birds like this. The only loud birds we heard here as a kid were crows.
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#365daysofbiking Spirit of the water
August 30th – Returning home at sunset after a long day I noticed that Autumn is now encroaching. The evenings feel chilly and damp, although not yet cold; the greenery has the beginnings of the season’s golden jacket and things just look duller.
Still it was beautiful, and nice to see the canal so full after the leak in the summer.
July 5th – Passing the locks in Walsall, I noticed yet another heron; they are absolutely profuse this year and I see 6-8 on every journey to and from work. Whilst their diet is predominately fish, they will take young waterfowl chicks, and Mrs. Mallard was hurrying her fresh brood away, while the crow, for unknown reasons, squawked abuse at the grey fisher.
I love herons but being one of these extraordinary, comical birds today wasn’t a great gig, clearly.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 