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In my last post I briefly reported that the Canal pair of swans had failed in nesting this year.

On Saturday I found their nest abandoned and the pair sat on the bankside at the bottom of a garden looking like they were trying to build a nest.

Yesterday I went down to see them and lo and behold they had with them a little cygnet. Today I whizzed down to get some shots. I think the mother must have been sitting/brooding the chick when I saw them on Saturday. 1 cygnet isn't a very large brood for this nest site which in the past has hatched up to 8. Although little is know about this pair they could be new and inexperienced or old and less fertile.

Duel of the skies

Today was pretty dull and the air held the faint promise of rain that expressed itself as the odd drop here and there and the odd short spot of mizzle.

There was a lot of song on my patch but little activity. Despite the lack of wind most of the birds seemed to be sticking to the woodland where I could not see them.

Soaring above however were a pair of Swifts that screeched overhead and dived and tussled together. Its only when you see them in the sky together do you realise how stocky Swallows can appear in comparison.

Beside the river there were plenty of flying insects and I was able to get a few nice shots of a Grey Wagtail taking a quick preen in between feeding bouts.

On my return stretch I noticed the Kestrel emerge from one of the field side trees adding further evidence that there could be a nest where one of the branches has cracked and left a cavity, this was further reinforced when the male also flew out of the tree. They both seemed a bit agitated. Lots of people pass under the tree so I did not think it was my presence and then I caught site of the object of their worry, a buzzard across the meadow.

Both Kestrels proceeded to 'buzz' the buzzard by dive bombing it and calling incessantly.

Then after a few minutes the buzzard finally had enough and made a run for it pursued by the Kestrels.

On a side note: There is more bad news for the areas swans, a second nest has failed. The usually excellent nest site on the canal has been abandoned. Their was no sign of eggs or cygnets in fact the adults were located further down the canal attempting to make a new nest at the bottom of the garden. It is possible they were disturbed in their first site. Either way at the moment this leaves only 2 out of the original 4 nests still surviving.

Just your average weekend

This weekend was a good weekend for wildlife watching. I managed to get out both yesterday and today to enjoy the good weather.

Yesterday I went back to St Nicholas Park to check on the swans and find out if indeed there were two pairs or just one. As it turns out there is just one pair, a tagged male - BEF and an unidentified female still on the nest.

On the way along the canal I saw the first ducklings of the year. Every year I see the first ducklings at the aqueduct where the canal crosses the river. There were nine of them and they were skittering across the water chasing the flies that whizzed about.

Whilst at Kingfisher Pools there was a fishing lesson/competition that had been joined by a Heron.

I was awoken this morning by an awful din of screeching and calling. I know a predator was about and got myself up and to the window. I saw a magpie pinning a juvenile starling to the floor. I gripped it tightly and was pecking violently at the head and neck. Around him he was bombarded by a number of adult starlings who unsuccessfully mobbed the predator.

I know Magpies take chicks but to see it was something altogether different. It lacked the tools of the Sparrowhawk to despatch the prey quickly and instead was having to use brute strength and brutality to subdue both the juvenile and hold off the attacks of the adults. It was mother nature, red in tooth and claw.

Later I went down to my patch and delighted in the amount of sound, the swallows above and the whitethroats in the meadow joined the happy song of the chiffchaff filled the air with song.

The swans nest is still abandoned and sadly there was no sign of the Kingfisher I seriously doubt they are nesting this year, the activity is far too low.

Interestingly I managed to get a picture of an Orange Tip. Orange tips tend to be very flightly  and rarely come to rest, all my previous shots are blurred or of them in flight. One came to light as a I sat watching the Kestrel hunt from main tree. Its great to get a good shot and be able to examine its antennae and the way it holds its wings.

Bald as a Coot

I have recently upgraded my canon camera to the latest model and today was the first time I have had chance to put it to the test.

I decided to pay a quick visit to the local park to check on the Swans as I am certain they would have nested by now. On arrival I found a number of odd things.

Firstly there seemed to be two Swans sitting on nests. One was in plain site in a poor location beside the cycle path and another was on a more discreet nest set between the pool and the river. In the past few weeks I had only seen one pair of Swans. The two nests are fairly close together so it is possible they are of two different pairs or it is possible that the pair I recorded built several nests and the male is just resting/roosting on one of the nests. This is borne out bu the fact that no other swans, the 'males' were observed.

Having recorded the swans I took a circular walk around the pool and found another unused swans nest and a dead coot. There did not seem to be a mark on the bird and it was fresh, perhaps only a few hours old. It is possible he was a casualty of one of their violent clashes between rival birds.

I also stumbled upon a Coots nest and was surprised to find that they already had chicks. Coot chicks or Cootlings as I like to call them are balls of black full with ugly red and black heads with flecks of orangey red feathers. The red often confuses people into thinking they are Moorhen chicks. They two are black but have a more 'cute' appearance.

Mutes and Screamers

At the end of last month I updated you all on the status on the swans that I keep an eye on and this week I am pleased to say that another pair has nested.

This untagged pair has built a scant nest on my patch. The pair have been seen the past few weeks moving up and down the river looking for a suitable spot and have finally chosen a bank side off an inlet on to the river.

I am skeptical of its chances of success, its fairly close to the water and not very well built up risking flood waters, it is also close to the steps before Guys Cliffe a place popular with people who allow their dogs to swim. I think the rain or disturbance mean that it is unlikely that I will see any cygnets this year here.

Elsewhere the canal pair seem to be doing well. In fact they built four nests before settling on one to lay in. I still have to check on the St Nicholas Park pair but suspect they too will have nested by now.

***

Last weeks patch visit was one of firsts. On my usual tour of the patch I recorded the seasons first Swallows, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler. There are now at least 6 Whitethroats on the site all singing merrily trying to attract one another's attention and find a mate.

Female ducks are still absent and so I hope still on eggs, sadly ducklings do not last long on the Avon, mortality in the first week is incredibly high. In previous years I have seen brood go from 12 ducklings to just 2 in the space of 5 days. In the past predators such as Mink and Pike have been the problem, but I haven't seen a mink in years and I rarely see their footprints in the mud, this is a promising sign.

***

Last week I was incredibly frustrated to discover that I had forgotten to switch my remote camera back on after changing the memory card. For 7 days it sat passively watching but not recording, only weeks before the wind had blown the camera upwards revealing only clips of the sky and branches. Thankfully this week all is well and I started to get some interesting sightings. 

There has been a noticeable absence of wood mice, this could be due to the increase in vegetation, they can perhaps now forage without triggering the camera, I m not totally convinced, there is enough bare ground for their detection. Most interesting is the increase in Fox sightings. One such shot includes two foxes together. Their activity has increased in frequency and the time of day with more observations in daylight hours, I m suspecting cubs to follow, or perhaps that should be hoping.

On interesting clip only shows a fox for a fraction of a second, what is more interesting is the sounds recorded. Such screams that get louder and louder, I m not sure if these come from a Fox, they can vocalise in shrieks and screams or if it is some unfortunate prey such as a Jackdaw or Rabbit, take a listen and see what you think:

No time for the Environment

On the 30^th March I e-mails all the candidates in the forthcoming General Election for my constituency Warwick and Leamington. I asked each of them the same two questions:

 How will your party improve the environment in the national and international arena?

 What are your specific environment concerns/policy for your constituency?

As of today (25^th April) I can say that the response has been abysmal. Out of the 5 candidates representing the Conservatives, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and UKIP only 1 candidate bothered to reply.

This reply came from the current defending MP, Chris White the Conservative candidate, an irony given that the Conservative Manifesto doesn’t offer much to the environmental movement.

Here is some of what he wrote:

On National Policies

"The Government has reduced carbon emissions by 6 percent since 2010 contributing to a 27 per cent reduction since 1990, addressing the challenge of climate change while delivering some of the highest economic growth in Europe. The UK is set to be the most attractive EU destination for investors in clean energy. Britain's share of electricity generated from renewables has doubled since 2009 and Ministers are determined to ensure we become a world leader in the new green economy."

On Local Policies

“On local environmental issues, it is vital that we protect green belt land and that housing developments are placed on brownfield land where possible. Protecting our open spaces, of which we have many to pride ourselves on, is a priority for me. I have written to the local authority on a number of occasions regarding the Local Plan to ensure that developments are placed with the best interests of our community considered.”

These are just excerpts from a much longer letter that detailed all that the government had currently done. This was not what I asked – I am well aware of what has been done or not done – I wanted to know what they are going to do, having said that at least he had the manners to reply.

The only other effect my mini campaign had was to get me added to the Labour Party mailing list resulting in emails from  Ed Milliband urging me to donate to the party and giving me a special campaign zone to canvas on behalf of the party that included a field, a park and an office block.

To say that I am disappointed in the response is an understatement, in the past 2 general elections all three of the main parties replied to me and helped me to understand their policies. The environment is notably absent from the campaign as a whole, and whilst I understand the importance of the Economy and NHS I want to live in a country that balances all its duties.

So has this exercise helped me come to a decision... quite frankly no. As a local MP the Conservative candidate has a fairly good environmental record especially in opposing government projects such as HS2. The Labour Party has a very tempting offer to end the Badger Cull and tighten animal welfare policies. The Liberals in my opinion have the best policy involving a Nature Act to back up change with legislation. The Greens likewise have good policies and UKIP... well they have some good ideas and some worrying ones.

With 2 weeks to go I am none the wiser and I m sure much of the electorate is the same.

A weekend of Wildlife and a salutary tale.

Friday was an exciting day, I saw my first newt. This excitement became grounded as my own hubris was exposed. I was printing off worksheets in the work room when a teacher came in telling me I was needed in the courtyard as another teacher had found a newt. This is not odd, I am often called into deal with sick animals or those in stress. In the past 15 years at the school I have dealt with numerous birds, a rabbit and a hedgehog. I have even been called to check on corpses of Foxes and Grey Herons that have been found on the grounds.

I found the teacher in the car park with a gang of kids huddled round. At their feet was a newt. Carefully I bent and picked it up. It was remarkably lively and crawled gamely across my hands. The kids were fascinated and I took the time for each to take a look and explain why it wasn't a lizard even though it looked like one.

As more cars arrived we cleared the area and I decided to take the newt round to the school garden which had plenty of cover and a pond. I took a quick photo to confirm ID. It was a Smooth Newt but its orange underbelly made me cautious about it being the rarer Great Crested Newt. Nevertheless as I fumbled for my keys to open the gate the newt ran off my hand an plummeted to the tarmac. I quickly scooped it up and went inside. Now the newt was disturbingly still and I feared the worst. I laid it in the water and still it remained motionless. I moved it to a covered side of the pond and still it refused to move. I was terrified I had killed it by allowing it to run off my hand. I decided the best policy was to leave it in a safe place and check on it later.

I left the newt alone for an hour. In that hour the excitement of seeing my first newt had been crushed by the weight of what had happened and I found myself increasingly depressed. the newt had been left in my care and the kids had trusted me to look after it. My colleagues found it mildly amusing but saw the effect it had on me. Eventually I plucked up the courage to return to the garden and check. Barely hoping I opened the gate and found that the Newt had gone. I suspect he was only dazed by the fall and had decided that playing dead was a better option than running. My relief was palpable, I found it a telling lesson in not letting ones own excitement and needs get above those of the wildlife I profess to care so much about.

To continue this blog I thought I would add in some photos from the last couple of days. First of all a shot taken in the glorious sunshine on Saturday.

The next three photos were taken this morning. A second exciting sight was had when myself and my mother spotted a pair of Stoats tussling in the scrub. They were too quick to photograph however.

The first Lady's Smock of the season out in flower on my patch.

Harking back to the last post - A Chiffchaff the sound of spring.

And lastly a close up of the Robin that visits my feeding station.