Tuesday 15 May 2012


The Mute Swans near the Lido have seven cygnets There is still an egg in the nest but it is probably a dud, as the mother swan is ignoring it. If it were live, she would have been able to hear the cygnet squeaking and tapping inside the egg and would have stayed on the nest till it hatched.


Some of the cygnets have already taken to the water. Their father stands guard outside the net -- which has nothing to do with the swans, but was put there to protect the reed bed.


The first young Starlings are already out of the nest and are chasing their parents, squawking to be fed.


In the Tawny Owls' nest tree, two owlets were visible, and an adult was in one of the trees at the font.

There is a new Treecreepers' nest under the bark of a sweet chestnut tree 75 yards north of the Physical Energy statue, at map reference 51.507514,-0.178206 . The hole is on the north side of the tree, about 10 ft above the ground. Parents were going in and out carrying bits of fluff.

Swifts remain in large numbers over the lake, with a few Swallows and, for the first time, a fair number of House Martins. I would guess the number of martins as 50, but it is very hard to count these whirling creatures.

1 comment:

  1. What a delightful sequence on teh swan family. Thank you very much.

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