More Fishing Tackle Trauma !!

Unbelievably while doing my river round this morning I witnessed yet again one of the Cygnets getting tangled up in fishing line under the Merryton Bridge !!  The poor bird unwittingly got it's feet caught up in line which was attached to a half submerged willow branch in the water. In total panic it tried to escape from the hidden line and in doing so set off a chain of panic among the rest of the family, especially Popeye and Penny, who were trying to protect the cygnet. As the panic increased the cygnet was pulling the line and branch behind it and other cygnets were getting caught up too. They all headed down to their island sanctuary where the two cygnets now tangled together got out of the water onto the island to escape the willow branch trailing behind them. By the time I got onto the island, Penny had got out of the water only to get caught on the line in the grass, it was fast becoming a nightmare. As I approached them, Penny went back into the water pulling the line and branch as I grabbed for the line before it disappeared through my fingers ! She had inadvertently taken the problem to herself as it became disengaged from the cygnets. She swam round the island as I called them all back to the moat, when they appeared  Penny was free of the line and branch !!

                               I will get onto the island tonight when the tide goes out to see if I can find the line and branch before they get caught again.
This is 3 incidents in 3 weeks, causing pain and trauma to our waterfowl. 
The Scottish SPCA Inspector said that this requires some action and warning signs on the Merryton bridge, the River Nairn Swans and Waterfowl Trust agrees with this assessment and will see what can be done.

UPDATE : Tonight after a close inspection of the Island and Moat, I found the offending line under the water in the dead part of the moat, it was not taken away by the tide and would almost certainly have caused more mayhem if it had not been found. When I held it up for Penny to see, she raised her wings and hissed at me - she knew damn fine what I had found !! 

Holiday Wildlife Dangers

Holiday time increases the danger to swans and other wildlife due to people pastimes - like fishing. Discarded or lost fishing tackle is a real threat at this time of year, and many swans and ducks end up dead or injured after swallowing hooks and line.

A timely reminder is on the Scottish SPCA website , their concerns are exactly the same here regarding tackle and out of control dogs. If you take your kids fishing, make sure they dispose of fishing tackle safely, and do not leave lines unattended. There are dozens of vulnerable birds on the river at present, due to moulting and immature birds that cannot fly. 

This makes it even more important that dogs are kept under close control near river wildlife. 

Wildlife Woes

There seems to be a spate of young gulls getting run over this past week, I have had 3  taken away by the Scottish SPCA. One of them was left in my garden by someone today. If you see any injured birds, the easy to remember number of the Scottish SPCA is 03000 999 999.

 Yet again one of the cygnets was caught up in fishing line - again at the harbour entrance while they were eating river weed, it was pure good fortune that it was able to get free. When I pointed this out to a local angler I got a mouthful of threats and abuse, and tried to blame me for feeding the swans in the first place ! Fortunately the Harbour master was able to remove the line the following morning. The folly of allowing fishing at the harbour continues, to the detriment of the wildlife.

 Then this evening 2 canoes came right up the river chasing all the wildlife upstream. The river is the lowest it has ever been and in no condition for canoes, or angling for that matter.

Water Babies

Mammy....why are we freezing ?

This afternoon Popeye escorted 5 of the cygnets down into the moat for a dip, two remained with Penny on the nest. They spent most of the time trying to get onto his back...who can blame them with such an Arctic blast from the north ! I managed a couple of short video clips of them heading back to the nest site before it clouded over. Earlier one of the cygnets was having a chat with Mum - I think the caption was probably it ! 
One poor Swan on the SSPCA website shows the dangers of fishing tackle to swans, seen here,   http://www.scottishspca.org./news/909_swan-injured-by-fishing-hooks