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Our resident Cob Popeye has been taken to the Vets for treatment this afternoon. Over the past couple of days I noticed he was spending some time on his own away from the family.
This gave me cause for concern since it is often the first sign of impending illness. Yesterday although he turned up in the evening with the family he was not eating and keeping his distance from me, I was now fearing the worst.
Today he was again on his own down at the Swans island while the rest of the family were up at Merryton bridge. I went down to have a close look at him and he was not a happy boy, he moved away and staggered shakily onto the island from the moat. I knew he needed immediate veterinary attention and called the Scottish SPCA to have him taken for treatment.
With the help of Inspector Aileen Ross from Inverness, we ushered him to the end of the Moat and caught him without any trouble. He is now at the Vets in Inverness, hopefully the diagnosis will not be serious and we can get him back to Penny and cygnets soon.
I get the impression it is a bacterial infection, the same or similar to last year when he was given several weeks treatment. He is stronger this time and having caught him earlier, treatment should be quicker.
Could this be a result of the recent sewage spill into the river ? ...I wonder !
The Swans island attracts other species especially during hard winter weather.
The grain and wild bird seed is also a welcome lifeline to the Moorhen and Turnstones.
Meanwhile the cygnets are keeping warm with bills tucked under their wings.
With a weather turnaround the sun shining and a crisp dry frost, we could hardly get a nicer Christmas day.
The Swans island and moat had a little ice, but not enough to freeze over completely.
The birds were waiting for their Christmas day Feast , which I was glad to deliver. Wheat grain, grower pellets, carrots, mixed bird seed and wholemeal bread!
They got stuck in, cackled and quacked with enthusiasm.
It's a positive joy to see these lovely creatures contented in their environment, we are privileged to have them here. (Short clip below.) Merry Christmas !
With the river now receding after the big flood it now becomes possible to see the riverbed changes. Huge volumes of gravel have been displaced and washed downstream, and the course of the river has changed yet again .
The moat protecting the Swans island has been partially filled in by tons of shingle blocking the supply of fresh water to the moat. This moat overflow also helps keep the area near the harbour toilets free from foul smelling drain effluent gathering near the toilet wall. The gravel will have to be cleared to protect the Swans nesting site, and prevent stagnant water building up in front of the island. I will carry out a thorough inspection when the river drops further.
Today I saw my first brood of Ducklings on the river, the mother appeared from the Swans island with 6 tiny ducklings. As always, they are incredibly cute and endearing, after a brief swim she took them back onto the island for a warm up.
The weather could have been better with a chilly sea breeze blowing up the riverside.
Hoping this is the first brood of many, for we will no doubt lose the majority to predators - this is the saddest part of spring for me. I would ask people not to attempt throwing bread to these tiny ducklings , since they are too small to eat it and only attracts crows and gulls to their presence, please don't do it.
Mid - Winter solstice today, and also marks my 900 blog posts to date since 2005. The river is running high and the forecast is for
more rain and snow in the hills during this festive season.
The Swans will not chase their cygnets away during this stormy unsettled weather, so likely to be here for a wee while yet.
The salmon will be spawning, and a big seal is already on the hunt for fish as witnessed today. The swans and ducks were sticking close to the Island out of harms way.
Meanwhile the pigeons have a mid- winter meal !
2007 was the year that completely changed my view on the Swans place on the River Nairn. This was both a year of disaster and triumph for the Swans.
The disasters of that year were many, Popeye and Penny after failing to nest successfully on the island strip at the roadbridge in 2006, then tried to nest within the harbour 2007 - only to have their nest swamped time and again by the spring tides.
This was followed by our resident swans returning to the harbour with their cygnets, only to be attacked and have all their cygnets killed by Popeye who considered he was protecting his new found nest site and territory. This was then followed by more tragedy when our resident cob hit power lines at lochloy and died a few days later. I found the whole of that summer very upsetting and resolved to find a solution for the Swans future. The answer lay in the creation of the Swans nesting island.
This would provide a permanent and fairly safe environment for the swans, who would not have to risk hitting power lines and also leaving their territory to be taken over by other intruders.
Top photo taken May the 6th 2005, shows first time I ever saw Popeye and Penny, the following year their failed attempt at nesting on the island strip, then the flooded nest in the harbour 2007. Finally their first successful hatching of 4 cygnets April 19th 2008. They have now successfully reared another 35 cygnets to date !
The Swans Island produced yet another brood of ducklings today, just after midday one of the ducks I reared last year (the sister of the mother of the white ducks) came over to me with 2 ducklings underneath !
I know she laid some eggs earlier in the year which were flooded and eaten by the crows. She had been acting as though she was sitting on eggs over the past couple of weeks, but I thought it was far too late in the year to be true. I believe she had more earlier in the day, for I see a pic of her on the Gurn showing 4 ducklings. The hoodie crows and seagulls will most likely have them all by tomorrow, this is virtually winter regarding food supplies! I have never seen ducklings this late in the year and I just can't see them surviving now, the days are too short with no insects, and long cold nights to get through.
The last lot of ducklings in August, started with 8 and finally ended up with two.
