Tag: wildlife

September 11th – I only went and forgot the camera again. This week can’t end quickly enough. Something is not functioning at all well.

On the way to work, in central Walsall the traffic felt risky, so I hopped on the canal and rode to Darlaston that way. On the way, I bumped into this family of swans.

This bunch are very attentive to humans – I suspect they get fed regularly. They were almost harassing me for food. The adults seem smaller than the Catshill brood, and there’s only three cygnets, but they’re lovely, healthy birds, and seem to have been ringed.

As soon as they realised I wasn’t going to produce bread, they went back to foraging in the weed and quickly drifted away. Cupboard love.

August 27th – A run out mid afternoon on an errand. I headed up the canal from Pelsall Road to Silver Street bridge, then over Clayhanger Common and the new pond to Walsall Wood. 

The herons are getting really, really confident; this one was on the canal by the Watermead estate. He wasn’t a bit bothered by what was going on around him.

The Swan family were grazing by the embankment restoration near the Black Cock Bridge. The seven young I’ve followed since hatching are adult-sized now, and the first hints of adult, white plumage are beginning to show. I don’t know what the bank works have disturbed, but these graceful birds were very engaged with eating it!

August 21st – For some reason, of late the Canada geese really have taken a shine to the marina in Silver Street, Brownhills.

Time was not so long ago you’d hardly ever see a goose on the cut, but this summer, they love it here – honking, preening and generally making a mess.

I’m fond of these large, truculent, much misunderstood birds – did you know there are twelve separate types of Canada Goose? – bu by heck, they make a mess.

It’ll be interesting to see if this is a passing attraction, or a longer habitation.

August 18th – If you haven’t noticed by now, I love herons. Adore them. I make no apology for featuring this one, just a day from featuring the last one – this was was on the restored embankment at the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood.

Love the way he had his back to the water, and was stood on one leg, resting pensively.

I could never tire of watching these fellows.

August 16th – This young grey heron was fishing in the canal, just by the old marketplace on Silver Street in Brownhills. You know, right by Tesco. On a Saturday afternoon.

I’ll let that sink in a bit.

I’d never have believed we’d see this kind of thing in Brownhills when I was a lad.

Hello, heron – I wish you an excellent day’s fishing.

August 13th – It may be late summer, but there’s still young ones about on the new pool at Clayhanger – fine, healthy mallard ducklings pottered about, as did a couple of moorhen chicks out with mum.

Ducklings have all the cute – but young moorhens seem to have the same dishevelled, grumpy appearance as young owls. They look like befuddled old men.

They are very endearing though.

August 2nd – I suspect you readers might be getting fed up with my obsession with swans, but with several local broods this year it’s made me more aware of these fascinating birds and their habits.

This afternoon, the Catshill brood – still at an impressive seven plus mum and dad – were on the canal between Catshill Junction and the Pier Street bridge, just to the rear of Lindon Drive.

They were doing something I never knew that swans would do – they were eating blackberries from brambles growing at the canal side. The youngsters were positively devouring the fruit.

I never knew they ate such things. 

When they realised I was watching, they regrouped, and headed off.

July 31t – I had something to go to in the evening, and returned late. I returned after dark, and it was beautiful, as late summer nights tend to be; it had rained briefly in the afternoon and the damp had drawn out the frogs, toads and gastropods in huge numbers.

This delightful pair were within six inches of each other on the grass by the canal at Silver Street. 

Some people find these creatures of the night slimy and unpleasant; I think they’re beautiful, in their own way.

July 31st – It’s not lightly or without thought that I feature this, but it is part of rural life that’s becoming increasingly common on urban roads, too.

This is a dead badger, spotted at the side of Green Lane, Walsall Wood yesterday. Adult, large, and in generally good condition, he had been hit by a car. Either carried or finding his way to the hedgerow, he looks like he died peacefully there.

There ain’t a whole lot of road sense in your average badger, and they’re becoming increasingly active in urban areas like Brownhills. Please take care when driving at night, as these creatures often stumble out of hedges and verges.

They are heavy, and solid, and will do damage to cars if hit at speed, but to those on two wheels, they can be deadly.

Watch out for Brock, please.

July 29th – Sorry, more cygnets. I didn’t know about these, but taking a desperate dive onto the canal to avoid traffic madness on my way to work, I passed this family of three and parents in Pleck, Walsall. 

They interested me particularly, as the young are clearly starting to develop white plumage, yet look younger than the Catshill brood (they’re smaller, too).

The adults don’t look any different, though…