Monday, June 21, 2010
Oh dear oh dear oh dear. It's not meant to go like this, but then again perhaps it is.
This is how it is. There are now two chicks, one has perished. It is no more. Predation? I don't think so, the site is just too tricky to access. The problem is this...
Yes, it is a nest with two chicks in it. What's the matter with that you say dear reader? Well it isn't the original nest, the nest that was high enough to hatch three and a half eggs. It's new, it's low, and it is rubbish.
After the initial hatching was over, the adults moved the functioning cup of the nest a little further down the pile which I can understand as it meant that they could put fresh material in etc etc. It then seemed that as the week went by they slipped further down the pile and closer to the water. This wasn't a problem while the top of the nest was still above the high tide mark, but now it isn't. Each time they have a new site the adults build, and when they build they take any material they can get their shiny little beaks on and the best source of nesting material is a nest that is not being used. Henceforth the top of the best nest is falling and there is no easy point for them to the chicks out of the water when high tide arrives. As Coots are not one of those waterbirds renowned for carrying chicks on their back the young may not be able to get out of the water at high tide, get a chill and drift off down the Wandle in their terminal torpor.
To exacerbate this scenario, they have now started building a completely new nest (as per the picture) and this is being built a few yards down from the original nest. When I last watched them the adults were extremely busy taking from the good nest and building up the new. To such an extent that the original (once good) nest will now be totally covered during high tide as will the new nest leaving the chicks nowhere to go when the tide rises. The adults, while being quite industrious have rather screwed the whole thing up.
I suspect that when I next visit, there will be less than two chicks and quite possibly less than that.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Those that have been watching the progress of the shopping trolley Coots over time will know that as the nesting season progresses, the nest slowly gets taller until they reach such a point that they are in a position to perhaps attain success. When I went to see them yesterday, I watched their futile nest saving attempts when the water was almost at the high tide mark, and could see it in action.
A nest doing wet, with a nice polystyrene cup
While they are at high water, the bird that is sitting on the nest (presumably the female) stays in situ whilst the other bird (presumably the male) frantically collects more material from the surrounding water course and takes it to the bird on the nest. The bird on the nest takes these offerings and adds it to the structure of the nest. The behaviour that the incumbent bird carries out can be seen in Swans, Geese and Ducks in a normal nesting situation (and perhaps any bird) - if they can reach something that is suitable for nest material without leaving the nest, it goes in. As the water is rising, and to an extent the bird begins to float, it will use the fresh material to fill the gap that is underneath it and slowly increase the overall height of the nest. Simple really.
Obviously, while this is going on they are trying to protect the eggs, but cannot. Remember that the nest got so big last year that before the eggs could hatch out the whole thing detached itself from the moorings and floated off but if they continue like this and get lucky it might turn out ok.
Elsewher on the Wandle yesterday I noticed another pair of Coots running around with nesting material, in a tidal area. Great.
Coots doing nesting handover behaviour
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
It seems like ages since I mentioned Coots, and so as not to disappoint regular readers here I go again.
Went to check on the shopping trolley yesterday lunchtime, and initially there was no nesting behaviour to be seen. There was a single Coot there, but it didn't seem that interested in the site. That was until a pigeon had an idea about landing on the shopping trolley to see if it could find something interesting on it. At that point the Coot went mad! It launched itself directly at the pigeon/nest exocet like before the pigeon had finished landing and it flew off. This bird still obviously feels that it needs to protect the site. Just to reiterate that it was the boss, it climbed on to the trolley and gave a bit of foot stamping and loads of threat posturing stuff.
A Coot doing behaviour
It then had a preen and moved back into the water.
After this I found a Cormorant.
A Cormorant doing swimming
After that I found the Grey Wagtail nest (which I am especially pleased with) and I'll try and get some rubbish pics of it today.
Please Barca, please beat Man U. I'll love you long time, please Barca, please!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
...there are a pair of Moorhens that have nested higher up the river wall than last year - and I am very hopeful that they can produce at least one brood of Heron food in about 20 days...
There is a red dot in the middle of the picture. That is a Moorhen.
Honest.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Yes, they are back. Assumed to be brood two. Much less inclined to move when on the nest so I cannot tell you how many eggs there are. The tides have not been especially high this week, so they may not have been flooded out, but I expect that this is just a temporary situation.
Note in picture two that the nest area has obtained a new addition, in the guise of an upturned trainer. Nike for those that actually care about these things.
This got me thinking about how much detritus I have seen floating down the Wandle (this river was so abused from the time of the industrial revolution that it was declared dead in the sixties - so what I get now is a vast improvement) and in true Generation Game stylee I present you the list. This is just for the Wandle, not the Thames where the list starts to include boats and guns and things. I shit you not.
A used condom
A shoe
A ski
Four car tyres
Beer cans
A filing cabinet, with drawers
Footballs
A shopping trolley (Sainsbury's)
Beer bottles
Tennis balls
A microwave oven
A cuddly toy
A lifebouy
Empty cider bottles
Traffic cones
A pair of gloves
A junkie's hypodermic
Flourescent jackets
A mattress
A colour television.
Give us a twirl Isla, or whatever your name is.
The stupidest thing about this list is that I don't have to make any of it up.
Finally, a big shout out to the London boroughs of Wandsworth, Merton and Croydon for the assistance in making this post happen and fly tipping into the river. I couldn't have done it without you guys!
