Bitter Pill - Trust Rescue

 High Drama on the riverside today as the Swans come under attack from the Crows!  To rescue a cygnet only for it to be killed a few hours later is a bitter pill to swallow- but this is exactly what happened today. This morning I saw Slim lunge at a Crow near the base of the island, then fly after it for about 100 metres before chasing it across the gravel, it was an extraordinary sight. It only became apparent later, that the Crow had grabbed a cygnet and flown off with it until forced to drop it by Slim ! 

While all this was going on, Sue descended from the nest with all her cygnets...but she only had 7, what happened to 8 and 9 ? 

                      I decided to have a look at the nest to see if any were there, sure enough just inches outside the nest was the headless body of a cygnet. I deduced that it must have been killed when it was alone on the nest for whatever reason. Meanwhile Slim was still having a yo- yo set to with a pair of crows  down river. 

When Sue came down off the nest Slim started to head back up to join the family. Some time later a passer by said he saw a lone cygnet down in the area where Slim had been battling with the Crows. 

Myself and 2 other Trust members went to investigate but could find no trace of the cygnet - we assumed the Crows had taken it. Later still, Trust member Donald came back from a short trip to the harbour to tell me he saw the cygnet in the harbour basin ! Myself and new Trust secretary Iona and Donald all rushed down tot the  harbour to effect a successful rescue. It was a brilliant team effort by the Trust and Slim to save the Cygnet.  It appeared ok with no visible injuries so I took it back to Sue and the siblings for release. It was slightly slower in the water than the others, but I hoped it was not serious and would check it again in a couple of hours. I was gutted 2 hours later to discover that Sue only had 7 cygnets and the downy fluff was scattered around the edge of the moat. Dealing with wildlife can be so rewarding, but equally heartbreaking too.

Predators On The Hunt

Most birds are now nesting and the predators are on the prowl. 
The Crows are highly active and hunting out any nests and eggs they can grab.

Duke is very wary of the crows, and had to race out of the moat when a crow landed on the nest with the intention of getting at the eggs. He is pretty agile and certainly younger than Penny, he was out of the moat and at the nest in a flash. Shortly after, another Crow landed nearby with a stolen ducks egg, and was joined for a meal. Pity the poor ducklings when they start to hatch !

Crows Claim First Brood

                               I was too late to save the first brood of ducklings today at the west beach. Yesterday I was told that a duck and 9 ducklings was seen in a garden at the bottom of Seabank road. Today I was informed about a duck with 5 ducklings trying to get past the breakers into the sea, this was almost certainly the same brood. The conditions could not have been worse, with a strong easterly wind and cold temperatures. By the time I walked over with the net, I was just in time to see the last duckling being taken by a crow - it was heartbreaking ! The mother duck stood on the rocks with the sea crashing around her and all her ducklings gone.

Depressing

Once again the weather takes a downturn, lets hope it's short. Today I saw a new duckling brood of 7 on the river this morning, no sign later in the evening. 

The Crows have so far taken all the ducklings from the lower river this season, around 100 that I'm aware of. Today I watched a hoodie Crow glide down beside a sitting duck , making her move because it thought she had some ducklings underneath her- these predators are getting totally out of hand ! 

Yesterday the mother with two remaining ducklings lost one to a black backed gull whom she tried desperately to stop, and by the evening she had lost the last one, like the weather it is truly depressing. Ducks have a really hard time trying to save their young from so many predators.

By contrast the Swans are doing well, and the Cygnets are thriving. 

Penny is moulting and has lost her flight feathers - she will be flightless for another 5 weeks, but Popeye retains his to defend the cygnets until Penny is back in the air.

Crow Deterrent

So far this season has been a disaster for ducklings, all hatches totalling 65 on the lower river that I am aware of have been killed by the Crows.

Having also taken 2 cygnets, these predators are without doubt the biggest threat to young birds on the riverside.

 The dead Crow that I placed on the island last week as a deterrent for the Swans has been well used.

The swans have now taken to sitting around the carcass and the Crows steer well clear of them - as the photos show.  Sadly this does not help the ducklings.

Good Samaritans

With the cygnets under constant attack from a particular crow, we almost lost another today, but for Good Samaritans who did not pass by. 

Jimmy and Kay Young witnessed Popeye trying to protect the cygnet after the attack, then chasing the crow as it headed to the swans nest again ! This left the cygnet alone at the neck of the moat and open to attack. Jimmy and Kay stepped in and sheltered the cygnet while they sent for my assistance. I was glad they did because the cygnet had an injury to the head that needed medical attention.

 Jimmy and Kay were kind enough to run me and the cygnet to Moray coast vets where it was given antibiotics, and the gash on the head sealed with surgical glue.

 We then returned to the river where I put the cygnet back to Penny on the nest, 

she readily accepted the cygnet but gave me a hiss all the same ! 
Later this afternoon I got a chance to check the nest since she brought all 7 cygnets into the water, there was one remaining cracked bad egg which I removed. 

This was a necessary procedure so that she would not continue to sit on it, thus depriving the cygnets of much needed attention. There was a clutch of 10 originally, but with only seven alive and one bad egg - this means that the crows must have killed two cygnets.

                       I checked the injured cygnet this afternoon and evening, it seems none the worse for it's ordeal at the hands of the crow, me and the vet ! The cygnet is the one with the dent on the right side of the head . The sequence of Pics tells the story.  My thanks to Moray coast vets and Jimmy and Kay for taking some photos of the drama on display.

Cygnets Under Attack !

Having killed around 50 ducklings in the river so far, the crows have now also killed a cygnet earlier today! Eye witness accounts told me the crow was jumping around the nest area and eventually made a successful grab for a newly hatched cygnet, killing it at the base of the island. 

Penny was still hatching her clutch and could not move, and Popeye the cob was limited with his reach. I am still surprised that the crow got so close to the nest during the hatching. These crows are causing a huge amount of carnage on the riverside, and are becoming ever more skilled as time goes by. Having retrieved the dead cygnet I was surprised by the size and weight, and the crow could not have flown off with it. No wonder tiny ducklings don't stand a chance with these predators.

The River Nairn Swans and Waterfowl Trust will have to see what action we can take to combat this destructive menace. 

The swans hatching is still in progress, but the windy weather is very  much in the crows favour.

 While retrieving the dead cygnet, I took the opportunity of taking a few pics and short video of the nest site below,  enjoy !

Bad Week For Ducklings

Once again the Crows have wiped out the entire river population of Ducklings in the past week, so far all 4 hatchings that I'm aware of have been taken by the Crows. 

Two days ago I rescued another 2 ducklings that were about to be taken, having seen one of their siblings being picked off the surface of the moat by a crow.
The Mother was nowhere to be seen and most likely chased by the single Drakes, leaving the ducklings to the mercy of the crows. It was more than I could stand so added them to the 8 recently incubated ones from an abandoned nest. They have been accepted since there was only about three days difference in age.

Meanwhile the mother with 9 is doing well in the safety of the aviary. These ducklings are the only survivors in what has been a devastating couple of weeks on the lower river. For those of you who haven't managed to see any this year so far...a short clip of the ones in the brooder below.

Predators 47 Ducks 0

With the nesting season halfway through, the tidal reaches of the river are proving to be disastrous for this years ducklings. So far 47 ducklings have been wiped out by the gulls and crows. The last sizeable brood of 9 were all taken within three days. People keep asking me "where are all the ducklings ? "

It is extremely depressing seeing newly hatched ducklings, taken to feed even more of these predators. Yesterday evening I saw a gull swoop down and pick up one of only two ducklings left on the lower river. I again appeal to those people who continue to feed the gulls on the river to stop doing it, creating a gull colony on the river is bad news for other species. Predation appears to stop at the gulls and crows, to the detriment of other species. The only survivors  are 7 links ducklings that I kept out of harms way in the Aviary for 3 weeks,

before putting them into the river.

Riverside Recyclers

Recycling is nothing new to people of my generation, wartime babies grew up with REAL AUSTERITY with rationing right through until 1954, we knew how to make and mend and recycle everything ! It has taken fifty years for government to start promoting recycling just to cope with the excesses of the consumer society. Nature of course has always been doing it, and our riverside is a perfect example of it today. Those of you unfamiliar with our Salmon rivers should understand that Salmon travel up river to spawn every year. Like all living things their primary purpose in life is to reproduce before they die. Many of our Atlantic Salmon make it back to the sea to continue the cycle of life. Many also die during the spawning season and are washed downstream, settling on the banks and shallow areas of the river, this happens all through the winter until around February/March. Nature's recyclers are often kept alive by this bounty, for food is scarce during winter. The Tidal area of the river is a favourite haunt of birds and other creatures, for everything in the river drifts there and is generally ice free with the daily influx of salt water. Those of us who know the river, are quite familiar with the occasional sight of black back gulls, herring gulls, mink, otters, rats, crows, weasel's foxes,cats and dogs, all sniffing around the riverside for a decayed fish or anything else that might be edible. They are the riverside natural recyclers at work, some would prefer fresh meat but anything will do in harsh times. Rodents are part of the river scene, and are of no special significance unless you have them in your house or garden as permanent residents. The recent removal of undergrowth between the Merryton and road bridge has probably forced resident rodents to move to undergrowth below the Merryton bridge. The current furore over a family of rats should not be used as a pretext for political interference in the river, or to deprive the river waterbirds of their much needed winter food supply!

Last Ducklings Gone

As anticipated the two late ducklings have both gone, one yesterday, and the last one today. It's so sad that these poor little ducklings did not get a chance to survive. I watched the last one yesterday feeding and preening with it's Mother, the will to survive was so strong because it would have seen what happened to it's siblings over the previous two days. The night's are so long and the crows would be ready for them at daybreak, either that or the gulls!  It's hard to accept the total wipeout of these tiny birds, it's only their size that makes them so vulnerable.