HAPPY CHRISTMAS !

To All our Trust Members and viewers, a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.☺ 

Penny with one of Popeye's wee yin's.

Close up Portrait of Popeye, the original Big Daddy of 62 Cygnets fledged - on the First Ever Swans Nesting Island on the River Nairn !

             Gone but not forgotten.

Popeye Pics

Trust member Mike Greig sent in a couple of nice shots of Popeye just days after his return from the wildlife rehab centre in December. 

Apparently he sent them months ago, but with the wonders of the internet I only received them today. Black and white shot shows the nice contours of the feathers.

Heading In The Right Direction

POPEYE UPDATE : Just been informed that Popeye is responding to Liver Treatment, and is now eating, walking, and swimming. He is being treated by renowned SPCA Bird Vet Mr Alistair Lawrie BMVS  HonFRCVS . He will be seen again on Thursday when hopefully the blood test results will be available.

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Still waiting on Popeye's blood test results, but have been told that his condition is improving and "heading in the right direction".  I take this to be good news for the moment, but will be a lot happier when they tell me he has a clean bill of health and is ready for the road home !

 A few pics to remind us all of what a superb and important bird he is !

Popeye And The Pintail

Sometimes waiting to click the shutter just at the right moment gets a nice photo.

The Pintail has integrated well with the other birds and is now looking really good.

With his new plumage, the pin tail feathers are now getting prominent too.

He is a real contrast to the Mallards.

Canadian Visitors

Was talking to a couple of Canadian visitors yesterday, and today we have a couple of Canada geese visiting the river. 

This pair were enjoying a little break on their journey, when Popeye decided he did not want any competition and chased them away.

Final Countdown

Looks like Popeye and Penny, have decided it's time for the cygnets to leave the river.

They are actively chasing them around with more determination, and the cygnets know they should be moving on. 

It seems certain they will be gone within a week. It has been a delight to have had them in the river so long, but Popeye and Penny need a couple of months respite before nesting again.

Heads

The Cygnets are whitening up and are now almost certainly entering their last month on the river. 

Penny is already spending some time on her own and awaits the shortest day on December 21, after that we head towards Spring - and she knows it !

Some close up shots of Popeye and the cygnets heads today.

Duck Still Alive

Today I was shocked to discover the mother duck with no Bill still alive, she came close to me looking for food but was unable to eat, it was heartbreaking. This evening I tried again to catch her because she came close looking for food, again she was much too quick to take flight. I will probably get her when she is so weak that she can't fly away, it is very frustrating. Ironically after the last attempt to catch her I noticed a seagull on the island trailing an almost severed wing, so I managed to chase and catch it of course.

 The SSPCA picked it up a short while ago. The Swans are back to their old self, and oblivious to the pain and discomfort they inflicted on me a few days ago, 

Think I named popeye well...no more spinach for him !!

Thanks to all those who have wished me well, and offered support for any future rescues.

Cygnets Video

Short cygnets close up video, courtesy of Popeye letting me get so close !

Trust News

After 3 months The Bank of Scotland have finally set up the Trust Bank account, it has been a yo - yo application, and the Bank has apologised for the errors and delays, as a gesture of goodwill they will deposit £25 into the account, Thats nearly a week's food supply for the swans and waterfowl. 

This spring has been consistently cold, resulting in fewer ducks leaving the lower river to nest, and an increase in the feed required at this time.
Thanks to the trust membership, the Swans, waterfowl and small riverside birds are being well taken care of.

The Rescues carried out over the past year, totalled 23 birds,  8 pigeons, 7 herring gulls, 7 ducklings, and one swan. Then there was Popeye with his infected leg successfully treated.

All but 5 of these survived to be returned to the wild, but 4 of the ducklings have since been killed by predators, including dogs. 

The current pigeon 
rehabbed at home is doing well, after nearly 3 weeks it is flying about the house, but still has a balance problem on it's weak right side. The symptoms are similar to a stroke victim and it could be permanent, although I am working on the physiotherapy side. Considering it was totally paralysed 3 weeks ago, the progress has been remarkable.

Short vid below.

 My Thanks to Sue our Avian adviser for all the helpful advice. Sue is a remarkable woman who carries out extremely difficult and dangerous rescues down south, she gets frequent black eyes, gets covered in mud, occasionally loses her glasses, and has even had a broken rib from a Swan she had to rescue. Well done Sue !
Finally, I heard from a dog walker tonight that she saw a dead Drake off the path verge recently,  yet another dog casualty !
I have asked Cllr Liz Mcdonald repeatedly for a few signs between the road bridge and bailey bridge, but she says she doesn't think they will be taken notice of . The Trust feels that educating the public takes time, and responsible signage will have an effect over time, even responsible dog owners agree with this.  

Silly Cygnets

Two of last years cygnets decided to return home last week, they looked healthy and obviously not starved. they were followed by 5 more cygnets today but they were not our last years offspring.

Popeye was on nest guarding duty and Penny was too busy foraging for minerals to notice them. That all changed when Popeye was freed from nest guarding duties and he promptly set about getting them out of the river ! 

One of them was determined to stay and kept coming back, which gave me the chance of a few overhead shots.

 The sound from those magnificent wings was just musical !

Penny Takes a Break

The Swans Nesting is underway and Penny has been busy ingesting minerals and algae for the past week. The business of egg laying has been taking it's toll and today she decided to take a break in the sun, which was fine if you were out of that northerly chill. 

Penny had a good Scratch, then a clean up and sleep in the moat.

Popeye has spent all his time guarding the nest and keeping it warm from the hard night frosts.