Tag: swan

June 6th – A pootle into Birmingham through Sutton Park, down past Witton Lakes and on the canal through Aston. I returned on the canal to Smetwick, then up through the Sandwell Valley and home.

The wind was fearsome and this was a wolf of a day again – but the canals looked fine and it cheered me up no end.

I loved the swan des res on WItton Lakes – a great idea for a safe nesting site!

The geese are really aggressive at the moment. The one that drew blood pecking my ankle really wasn’t messing about – so take care!

May 24th – The Watermead swan family in Brownhills are doing just fine, after the loss of a single cygnet soon after hatching. The remaining six are looking healthy and growing well when I saw them in the evening. Mum and dad are clearly protective, but aren’t shy to show off their charges, either!

Meanwhile, on the canal towards Aldridge, a small but perfectly formed mallard mum with four cute little ducklings.

A joy to see all these young birds at the moment.

May 23rd – On my way home, I rode past the JCB plant at Rochester. The huge factory has a landscaped park in front of it containing large lakes fed by the river Churnet. On one, I was lucky enough to spot the two resident black swans, who are noted for their presence here.

Australian imports, these birds are uncommon and very grumpy that I wanted to photograph them. I love the white stripe on their bills.

A lovely thing to see.

May 14th – Bittersweet. Also in the rain, the Brownhills Watermead swan family, I first took pictures of at the weekend – doing well, but down from seven cygnets to six. One will have been snatched by a predator, or may have been weak and died; but the rest look fine and are already growing. Out with mum and dad who were keeping a watchful eye, they were a lovely family. 

Such joy and sadness in nature.

April 27th – A short run of Black Country canal – from Pleck to Bentley Bridge, Darlaston, on the way to work in bright, but chilly sunshine. Mr. Swan was still drifting aimlessly, waiting for his partner to hatch their clutch; it’s nice to see he’s been ringed. Further up, the coots had already got chicks. Coot chicks are probably the most ugly-cute young birds this side of baby owls. Sadly, they were being stalked by a heron, so I don’t give much for their chances. 

Off Bentley Bridge itself, a great sky, mirror flat water and the feeling that spring is really on her throne.

April 15th – On my commute home, on the Walsall Canal. in a disused, fenced-off wharf arm off the mainline, a mother swan watches me carefully from her nest in the reeds.

It may look a bit polluted, but she’s fairly safe there: there’s a palisade fence and factory yard around, and it’s a brave fox would try to get to that nest.

Security. It’ll be interesting to watch her progress.

April 4th – The people living by the pool formed from the Trunkfield Brook at Cathedral Walk in Lichfield have a rare treat right outside their front door: nesting swans. Presumably, mum is sitting while dad stands cautious (and probably bombastic) sentry. How lovely to be able to watch cygnets grow at such close quarters.

Not so lovely perhaps for any pet cat or dog at the same house who will be unable to go about their business without the noisy attentions of a protective swan…

April 3rd – This is a crime warning.

The canal towpaths and waterside footpaths are, as is usual at this time of year, inhabited by attackers, muggers and aggressive beggars. Hormonally aggressive, the Canada geese and swans really aren’t messing around at the moment and will go after anything – walkers, cyclists, dogs.

This pair at Walsall Wood have been hanging about all week, and I now carry tidbits for the male to stop him pecking my ankles as I pass.

I’ll be glad when mating is over and they go back to their usual grumpy but relatively nervous state. 

March 28th – Even on the greyest days, Brownhills has signs of life at this time of year. I set out for a short spin on a grey, showery afternoon, and was rewarded with a herd of red deer at the old clay pit, a nesting swan just by the canoe centre and watered, and a delightful grey wagtail at Anchor Bridge.

It took me a while to work out why the young stag’s coat was grey and oddly textured. He’s been rolling in clay mud. I know deer like to mud bathe, but that seems a little extreme… anyone seen this behaviour before? Is it harmful? 

I noted the deer were in moult, and wondered if the mud-rolling was a way of accelerating the shedding.

October 30th – The morning commute was marked by the wildlife I encountered on the way. As I left home, a large male fox sauntered towards me in broad daylight, bold as brass, taking the air, before diverting over gardens. 

At Jockey Meadows, deer were over the back of the woods, but I had no time to investigate.

At Pleck, I was panhandled by the central Walsall swan family of mum and dad plus two. They always come over and noisily demand food. When they realise you haven’t got any, they lose interest and wander off. Aggressive  begging is a persistent problem these days.

Right in the heart of urban Pleck, a grey wagtail was an unexpected delight, bobbin around in the canal side scrub. It was a long zoom in terrible light but such a cute little bird.

While I watched the wagtail, a large rat ran along the bumper rail. He was a big fellow. I only just caught his derrière. He looked healthy, though, so the water must be clean… yes, it’s a terrible photo but it does show the breadth of local wildlife, I guess.