Tag: swan

June 8th – On the local canals, it’s still multiplication time, and I was pleased to note in passing that the swans nesting in the Walsall Wood canalside garden had hatched a single cygnet. This pair have never had big broods, and last year hatched a pair.

Good to see the little grey ball of fluff and nice to see how attentive the parents are. I look forward to watching this wee one grow.

Meanwhile the Canada geese continue to promenade in their lines, share chick-care duties with other mums and hiss aggressively at observers.

This is always such a lovely, busy time on the canals.

May 24th – It’s not often you see a proud swan momma doing the Hokey Cokey to entertain her cygnets, but it’s a longstanding tradition, in my head.

This wonderful sight of the mother watching over young, sleepy hatchlings was at Stubbers Green, mid-morning, and an absolute joy to the heart.

This pic was taken from the road, and the nest’s proximity to the traffic is my only worry.

May 2nd – A dreadful, rain-sodden and intemperate morning commute – possibly my worst ever set me up for a lousy day. But things got better, slowly, and when I returned, the sun came out.

Coming back on the canal, heading to Brownhills I noticed that a WalsalL Wood resident near the canalside have had a resident take possession of part of their garden, who will hopefully soon have a little family.

What a wonderful thing to have in your garden – perhaps not so much if you plan on getting out there, though…

My only concern is that nest is awfully vulnerable to beer fox…

April 1st – A ride out to Hints and Hopwas for cake on a warm, but generally overcast but thankfully dry afternoon, that was much better than expected. Spring inches on in the reluctant winter gloom, with primroses showing well in Hopes Cemetery where the daffodils were also gorgeous, and a swan couple nesting near the social club up in the village. 

The Tame at Hopwas was flowing well, and spreading into the flood margins. People downstream at Elford will be worried. Let’s hope the rain holds off.

An unexpectedly good ride.

March 30th – A day of rest, with a journey up to Tesco in the late afternoon. The rain seems to be settled upon us for the weekend, which is a bit of a blow, but the forecast clearly isn’t as bad as many had predicted with a return to snow and ice.

I guess I should stop moaning, really; at this time in 2013 there was still lying snow around and it was very cold. And we are more prone to white eEasters than white Christmases in this country. But it feels like I’m missing out.

In Brownhills, the waterfowl didn’t seem to mind. One swan partner of the nesting pair just up around the bend was idling, and came over, hoping for food, and was grumpy when none was forthcoming. The Canada geese, however, were just loafing, and paid me little heed. We stood for a while together, just listening to the rain on the water.

There had better be a decent summer after this…

January 8th – Off to work on a miserable, grey and cold morning. I hit the canal in Walsall to avoid the morning crush hour and was accosted in Pleck by a very cross character demanding food. Sadly, my supply of corn was in another jacket, and the swan who was so aggressively begging showed it’s displeasure by repeatedly pecking my feet.

Of course, the swan was not starving, but urban swans are very lazy and accustomed to the high life, and when loafing in ice-free swim holes near bridges on cold days, they have little better to do that harass passers by for tidbits. I suspect the policy works best on passing mothers and fathers with children, whose guilt twanged, will come back with food.

The ice itself wasn’t severe. Moorhens and coots skittered about on it, but I doubt it would have supported the portly resplendent girth of your average drake mallard. 

On the wonderful Dru Marland Canal Ice scale, I guess it was somewhere between IC2 and IC3. Check Dru out here: she’s wonderful.

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December 10th – I continued from Chasewater up around Engine Lane and down to old railway trail to the old cement works bridge overlooking the council depot, where gritters and ploughs were coming and going in a constant stream.

There was a lot of angst on social media about grit, road treatment and ploughing, and as ever, I felt particularly for the poor folk doing this hard, almost thankless task.

Elsewhere, the swans weren’t bother by the cold from what I could tell, and Morris seemed happy with his new white mantel.

Temperatures were dropping as it got dark and it would be interesting to see what happened next day as the freeze deepened.

May 15th – Sorry, waterfowl again, but these little guys are fascinating me. 

The Watermead swans seem to spend a lot of time up at Catshill Junction – I’m not sure why, The cygnets are gaining bulk fast which should protect them from rats, mustelids and herons, if not larger raptors and foxes. Mum and dad are very attentive, and at the same time, relaxed. This evening, they brought their brood over to me to beg for food, which they weren’t doing a few days ago.

The Catshill Canada geese still seem to have the additional chicks stopping over, but appear to have lost 2. This is obviously very sad but normal, otherwise such large broods year on year would mean we’d be knee deep in Canada geese by now, and clearly we’re only ankle deep, so there.

May 12th – Slowly recovering from my tribulations, I headed off to Birmingham along the canals and through Sandwell Valley Park for some light relief. It was a dreadfully dark, rain-spattered day but the birdlife I saw was incredible. From the bluetits near Park Hall to the young waterfowl all along the canals of the area, multiplication really is the name of the game.

Glad to see the six cygnets all present and correct at Catshill Junction, and who knew gulls could yawn?