Tag: swan

January 26 – I’d prayed to Thor, the god of meltwalter, but not much happened. We had heavy rain, then it refroze; but skipping out mid day for a sandwich and a brew, there was a sharp ramp-up in temperature, and the thaw set in with some urgency. It actually felt tropical.

I had to admire the British stoicism of the picnickers with flask and camera. They didn’t even have a dog.

Even the sailing club got their boats out.

The riding was terribly poor; the ice on the paths around Chasewater was unridable as it was too mobile; it was like riding on pea gravel.

The bird life is booming at Chasewater; we recently had the largest gull roost in many years, with upwards of 10,000 birds, and the waterfowl on the boating lake are as persistent as ever. I love the domestic white geese and the way they hector me for food.

The water level continues it’s inexorable rise; on January 11th, the water was at 75com from the top of the scale, it’s now 64cm, a rise of 11cm or just over 4 inches. With the huge increase in lake surface area, that’s a immense amount of water.

The 9-foot pool has now joined the main lake through the new bridge, and it won’t be long until the water overtops the weir into the spillway – that is, if it’s allowed to.

It’ll be interesting to see the effects of the thaw.

December 21st – Further down the village, the Old Swan always looks busy and welcoming in Main Street, Stonnall. Tonight, the village was quiet, apart from the inevitable queue from the chippy, but the pub looked busy. It always does. 

For the benefit of @thestymaster, those christmas lights are green, OK? I checked.

December 19th – I wasn’t out long. It was just too unpleasant. But one place that does look nicer and nicer – particularly on a chilly, dark night – is The Swan, on the Pelsall Road. Saved from almost certain loss, the pub survives – and thrives, by all accounts – as a traditional, no-nonsense family and community boozer. No frills, just good beer and good company.

And that’s all you need, really…

May 3rd – The birdlife is engaging at the moment. Swallows and martins dipped over the water at Chasewater, and a couple of crested grebes slid past as I took photos from the dam. Meanwhile, down on the canal, Mrs. Swan still sits on her eggs. Today, she was being tended to by her partner. I found this interesting – he doesn’t normally seem to be in close proximity much. I wondered if it was a sign of hatching imminent. He swam over to me as I studied them, and hissed darkly. He’s going to be a whole bundle of fun if there’s cygnets around.

May 2nd – First of the year. These four healthy cygnets are with their mum near the central island on the new pond in Clayhanger, behind the big house. Safe from foxes and predators, they should be fine. The pair nested in the reeds near the island. Four isn’t a huge clutch, but it’s respectable. I was 30 metres away on the opposite side of the pool, with dad hissing at me from the other side of the reed bed. He wasn’t screwing around.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Swan up the canal at the back of Sadler Road was fast asleep on her nest, no sign of hatching there, yet…

April 28th – I see Mrs. Swan is still sitting on her nest at the canal bank at the back of Saddler Road, Brownhills. She must have eggs there, this has gone on too long for a dry run. One or other of the couple has been on that fantastic reed construction continuously for weeks now. I’m getting quite gripped by the suspense, now. Formerly, swans here have had very large clutches – one year, there was a mum with nine cygnets. I’m interested to see what happens now, and have started taking diversions down the canal just to check up. ho needs reality TV when you’ve got reality nature on your doorstep?

April 7th – As is customary when you buy a new camera, one of two things happens. It’s either dull and overcast for days afterwards, rendering all your handiwork and testing grey and horrid, or you take hundreds of pics not having spotted the packaging fluff on the lens wrecking every image. I think this time, we’re settling for the ‘dull’ option. I set out yesterday lunchtime with a heavy heart; it was drizzling steadily and Brownhills looked dark and moody. 

I was cheered, however, by Mrs. Swan, who was still sitting intently in her impressive nest at the canal bank at the rear of Saddler Road. She’s had a couple of dry runs in previous years, but I think this could be her first clutch. She seems to be shuffling a lot, and quite concerned for what’s beneath her. In previous years, pairs of swans here have had broods as great as ten. I feel unusually gripped by this… it’ll be interesting to see how the couple do this year. At least the nest this time is well out of reach of foxes and rats.

March 14th – A run up the Trent valley to Walton-on-Trent, then back via Barton and Alrewas. A gorgeous afternoon, chilly, but with a wonderful, golden mist. Here at Whitemore Haye, I noticed the swans had descended, and were loafing in the fields. I’ve mentioned it before, but these birds are the bane of farmers lives – beautiful as they are, they’ll decimate fields of young crops, and are breeding at an incredible rate. I pity the poor person who eventually moots the idea of a cull, but I can’t see the current population of birds being sustainable with clutches of 6 or more being the norm. 

February 1st – This swan had me concerned for a bit. Sat on the frozen canal near james Bridge in Darlaston, as if he were trapped (I’m assuming it’s a he, how do you sex a swan?) I watched him for a while, fearing a stuck bird. As I started to whistle, he got to his feet, leaving small, melted imprints in the frozen canal surface. 
Birds seem able to be in contact with ice like this for indefinite periods, without their feet freezing because they have a very interesting feature in their blood circulation systems. At the top of their legs, the small amount of blood that flows to the legs and feet flows through a sort of ‘heat exchanger’ which removes heat from the outgoing blood and transfers it to the blood flowing back. Together with few nerves actually in the limbs, birds like these can stand for hours on ice with no ill effects and little energy consumption. All achieved through the magic of nature’s engineering hand, evolution. It surely is a wonder.

December 17th – For the first year in ages, Brownhills actually gained more pubs than it lost in 2011. The Hussey Arms – reopened by Greene King as a family pub – always seems rammed, and is getting good reports, although I’ve yet to visit. The Swan, also revitalised, renovated and reopened, is thankfully doing well, too. A traditional boozer, I had the pleasure of trying this fine pub a few weeks ago. Both are excellent additions to the social life of Brownhills, and I wish them well. Nice to see a full bike rack at The Hussey, too…