Tag: wildlife

#365daysofbiking Maturing:

October 2nd – Spotted on the canal in the during the morning commute, both the Walsall Wood swan family and the Walsall group. All in rude health and maturing to adulthood.

Woody the single cygnet at Walsall Wood this year is clearly thriving and he was happily browsing the weed with his parents never far way, his white plumage really coming on now.

More advanced, and loafing at the back of the factories on Pleck Road, the large Walsall family were having a communal chill out and preen session.

It never ceases to amaze me the positions swans are comfortable to get their legs into…

#365daysofbiking Hi deer:

September 30th – after a barren period of hardly seeing any, it was ace to meet the deer at Chasewater, just by the picnic area.

They expressed mild interest in me, but were not overly bothered by my presence.

It doesn’t matter how much I see of these guys – they’ll always be magical to me.

#365daysofbiking Going it alone:

September 27th – On the canal near Walsall town centre, I was accosted, as one often is, but loud, bullying, aggressive beggars, of the kind that inhabit most urban canals.

In this case, it was a pair of cygnets. On their own without mum and dad, they were enjoying the sun and harassing any passing human for food. When I declined for the seemingly perfectly valid reason that I had none to offer, they swam off, complaining noisily.

Nice to see them in rude health and taking after their parents.

#365daysofbiking Bugging me:

September 26th – The unexpectedly fine, warm weather has been bringing out some great examples of bugs looking for a last yahoo or somewhere to hibernate until spring. 

On my way to work, this lovely shield bug decided to drop in and say hi.

What a great little creature it is!

#365daysofbiking A bit Woody:

September 5th – Good to see the singular Walsall Wood cygnet christened Woody has survived and thrived. This couple haven’t historically had large clutches of eggs and I was concerned this year to see just the one chick, late in the season.

It has however thrived and is now nearly the size of it’s parents, and they remain a tight family group.

A wonderful thing to see.

#365daysofbiking Swanning around

August 28th – Oh hello guys, not seen you for a while.

Just at Bentley Mill Way aqueduct, the swan family seem to come from Moxley were determinedly heading towards Walsall – mum dad and five cygnets, now nearing adulthood. They were in a perfect line and a wonderful thing to see,

It’s nice to see another generation maturing.

August 25th – A good deed for the day. Heading out, I noticed for the second time this year, a pwood pigeon downed in the canal near Ogley Hay. 

I was unaware wood pigeons couldn’t swim until I found one in the canal near Oldbury in the summer – they float, but just drift and will clearly drown before long. I rescued that one, but it was difficult as I had nothing to get it close enough to grab from the water. In response to that I now carry a length of thin rope which I held both ends of and tossed the loop over and beyond the stuck bird.

Gently pulling it to the bank, I took the pigeon from the water, and popped him under the hedge to dry out, poor thing.

Funny how I’ve never seen this before and find two within a few months.

August 9th – The herons are still ubiquitous on the local canals and it’s not hard to see why; the numbers of fish these quiet, urban waterways are host to now is quite amazing – you see shoals of them surfacing and for the comedically shabby, grey expert fishers these must be good times indeed.

This one who seemed fairly elderly was clearly annoyed at me disturbing the catch of the day, and continually flew away, only to land 20 yards further up the towpath and have to move again as I pressed onward to work.

I’ll never understand why herons do that.