Christmas Day At The Island

Gale force winds tearing down the riverside, made for a very blustery Christmas day.

With temperatures near the mid teens melting hill snow, and yesterday's rain, the river was in spate. This forced the birds to the safety of the Swans Island.

Taking pics with 60 to 80 mile an hour gusts was a shaky affair, all the birds were keeping a low profile and Penny and Duke were leaving the orphan cygnets in peace. 

All the birds had a good Christmas feed - courtesy of the Trust.

A flock of Redshanks were also keeping down, and the duck that is still nesting came off the nest to have a quick feed.

If her eggs are viable they should be due to hatch any day now, conditions could hardly be worse for any ducklings getting hatched at this time of year. Long dark nights, high cold water, gale force winds and no food available - no chance of survival. - unless the Trust spots them first. Short clip below showing blustery conditions.