Pen Soldiers On

Two days after the horrific attack and the Pen is soldiering on and looking as well as could be expected. Under those wings of course there are severe injuries and I am keeping a close eye on her 3 times a day. Her tail is up and the wings being held up above the wounds. I have managed to give her the antibiotics again and hopefully this preventive action will stop any infection getting a hold. She is eating- but not very much, so I am giving her wheat grains and poultry pellets which are high in protein. She is still traumatised and will not venture up river anywhere near the scene of the attack, she is also terrified of any approaching dogs even along the river path. She spotted a chocolate lab today about 100 metres away gave a warning call and moved towards the middle of the river. I have to congratulate the council on the swift removal of the trees along the river path, this is most helpful and will allow the wildlife a clear view of any approaching dangers, it will also prevent further erosion and undermining of the river wall.

The cob has now taken over some of the pens duties and gave the cygnets a training session by diving on them at speed. Normally the pen would instigate this but she played no part in the activity, nursing her wounds instead.

I hope the lady dog owner contacts me and offers to pay for the veterinary costs for the pen, and maybe offer an explanation as to why she did not contact me or anyone else so that we could attend to the injured swan ? That would be the decent thing to do.

Dog Attacks Swans !

Update for SSPCA.
These were the photos I took this afternoon. She has been bitten on the side as well as the wings. She is still eating and the bleeding seems to have stopped when I saw her this evening.

UPDATE: After a brief inspection this morning , It is obvious I will have to get the SSPCA and get the Pen out to have a closer look at the damage, it looks more serious than I had hoped for.

I am now wondering if this is the same dog that killed a drake in exactly the same spot a few months ago !

Bad news for our Swan Family tonight, they were attacked by a black Labrador around 7pm as told to me by an eye witness - The Pen has been injured. On my usual evening rounds, a lady who lives in a house overlooking the river told me she saw a woman dog walker with a black lab which jumped down the river wall and attacked the Swan family at the side of the river. The Cygnets fled, and the pen fought the dog off but received injuries which I think are to both wings at this stage, I might get a better look tomorrow morning. The Pen is at her most vulnerable this time of the year because she started moulting about 2 weeks ago and is unable to fly, she would have fought to ensure the survival of her cygnets in any case. I saw her in the harbour and took a few shots of her, there is a considerable amount of blood on her back under her wings, and I cant tell if her injuries are only to the wings (which she would have used for defence)or if there are flesh wounds to the back. I phoned my swan injury experts down south for immediate advice. They said that dog bites always result in infection and that I should get antibiotics into her as soon as possible. Because she is with her cygnets it would be too stressful to remove her from them for inspection at the vets. I decided to contact the emergency vet and get antibiotics right away, moray coast vets were good enough to come out to the surgery and give me the appropriate antibiotic. I went down to the harbour where the Swans had retreated for safety, and managed with difficulty to get the pen to take the antibiotic. She always defers to let the cygnets eat all that's going, and only occasionally takes food herself. At the moment she seemed alert and head was not drooping and wings are in correct position, I only hope it is the feather shafts that have been damaged and not the wing flesh or bones. She is the one who teaches the cygnets to fly and it would be a tragedy if she can no longer fly because of this attack !

She will have to be given antibiotics for the next 5 days but if she shows signs of going downhill I will have to catch her and take her for veterinary attention, this would be very traumatic for the whole swan family !

This for me is the last straw regarding the issue of loose dogs around this riverside area. Over the past couple of years I have personally seen dogs on 7 occasions in the river chasing the wildlife. How many have I not seen God only knows ! What I do know is that many ducks have been caught and killed by dogs, witnessed by other people. Only last week a woman told me of a dead duck laying close to the caravan site fence by the bailey bridge. The bottom line is the fact that dogs are predators, and it's quite normal for them to want to chase, catch and kill birds !

The area from the roadbridge to the bailey bridge is only about 300 yards and is home to about 120 ducks , a family of nesting swans, and the only swan nesting site on the river Nairn. The area is also used by a great variety of other species throughout the year. There is no need for dog owners to let their dogs into this part of the river at any time - Period. I will be asking for support from our local river community council and the region, to have signs put round this river area that says, dogs must be kept on leads at all times ! This could have very beneficial effects for all of us, in preventing dog mess from irresponsible dog owners who let their dogs wander freely and mess the paths and river walks. With extendable leads there is no reason to have dogs running freely round this part of the river anyway. It is time we all recognised that the wildlife in this area has to be protected, for it is an asset that Nairn cannot afford to lose !

Another item that would have had a bearing on the dog attack, is also the fact that the very vigilant Swans would not have spotted the danger in time due to the trees growing out of the river walls. These would have hidden the danger until it was too late to take evasive action,

these trees must be removed as soon as possible for they are eroding and undermining the river walls !

Fascinating Gull Behaviour

Living in the centre of the town provides ample opportunity to watch the behaviour of Herring gulls, especially since I have a house and garage with flat roofs ! Each year I have nests on both and can view the garage and adjoining neighbours one also with ease. This year the neighbours one has produced 3 chicks, my own house 3, but nothing from the garage. All started nesting around the same time so I knew something was up with the garage nest since the gull was sitting for months with nothing to show. I had the occasion to climb up on the adjacent wall to put a young gull back on my roof earlier this week, so decided to see what was the matter with the garage nest. It had 3 eggs in and I lifted them all and found that one had a piece of shell missing underneath - it had contaminated the other two so I removed them all because I couldn't stand watching the poor mother sitting week after week trying to hatch them ! They did dive bomb me while I was doing this and I wondered if that would be the end for this year.

They did not abandon their nest site and hung around, departing sometimes for part of the day but always returning and laying claim to their site. Even as I type this, I can look out after midnight and see them standing close to the nest. A couple of days ago they started shaking and nodding their heads beside the nest, this is the usual prelude to nest building and mating so I reckon they will have another go - late as it is.

The nest is only a couple of feet away from the adjoining neighbours roof and the other gulls territory. There is a constant reinforcing of boundaries which must not be crossed ! The gulls face up to each other and draw lines with their beaks, tapping the spot which must not be crossed, sometimes they spend hours at this.

Yesterday was fascinating, as I watched my garage gull land with a young dead bird in it's beak - probably a blackbird or starling. It shook it violently and pulled feathers and skin from it but strangely did not eat any of it. Taking it towards the nest it again shook and bashed it, all in full view of the adjoining gull and 3 chicks ! Shaking and throwing the dead carcase towards the boundary it then flew and pounced on it snatching and throwing it again, the sort of thing you would expect a cat to do with a mouse ! It then became apparent to me that this was a show of power and strength, and a WARNING to the gull with 3 chicks that this would be their fate should they cross the boundary ! It made perfect sense really, if the garage gulls lay another clutch they will be at great risk from the surrounding gulls and young chicks - which will be ready and old enough to eat anything they come across.

Later in the afternoon I saw what I took to be the Male garage gull land beside the nest with a plant for the female, seeking her approval and trying to prompt her into getting in the mood. she turned away (as females do ) and he walked away with the garland until she turned around and then he walked back, she turned away again (typical female), so he again walked away ! This time she turned around and walked after him and he came back until she nodded her approval and gave a submissive peep. The dead bird was still laying on the boundary untouched close to the nest- the male gull was showing what a good provider and protector he was with both food and nesting material, and boundary protector to boot .

Taking the time to watch and understand bird behaviour is truly fascinating !

Enjoy the pics and short vid clip with the garland.

Nippers Lucky Day

Sometimes getting up and facing another day can be a challenge, occasionally things just go right as soon as you step out the door. Take the other day, I just walked 30 metres outside the house and lo and behold a parked skip full of useful goodies ! Right on top was a full size bathtub just waiting for me to give to Nipper. I promptly wrestled it to the ground and carted it into the aviary to set up later that day. One small snag - it didn't have a drainer or plug, but my lucky day was holding and I discovered an old drainer in the garage which I had kept for the past 8 years ! Usually I hoard things for as long as 30 years, in the belief that it will come in handy one day - that day had arrived, eureka ! Nipper has it all now, central heated indoor pad, new outdoor pool(Short video clip below ) with all mod cons, anti slip mat and even a springboard to get in and out. Personal body guard (the dog ) ! Maybe I should have called it Skipper instead of Nipper !

Meat and One Veg

Our Resident Heron is again presenting some good imagery, and snatched another eel with a bit of veg on the side ! He even flew off with it to a safe place where it wouldn't escape.

What a Shower.

The wraps came off Nipper the duckling's wing yesterday, and what a relief it was ! I am hopeful the " Angel wing " has been cured, and that Nipper will be able to fly eventually. Having got rid of the bandage, Nipper enjoyed a shower in the garden and a full bath size swim later ! It loved it, made the grass wet and tender. Later some pigeons tried to eat it's food but it was having none of it and saw them off.

Talking about showers, a new Mother of the month turned up in the river today with yet another record breaking 11 ducklings ! I would reckon they are about 5 weeks old and this is the best ever year on the river for ducks, a quacking record . The river is now teeming with life !

I got another nice shot of our Handsome hybrid too.

Interesting Busy Week

This week has been busy and interesting - with Nipper the duckling getting it's wing strapped , and all kinds of interesting things happening on the river. Nipper had to have the wing bandaged several times since it was so adept at removing the wrapping ! Yet another Mother duck turned up with 8 new ducklings, all well advanced about 5 + weeks old . One of them is a real attractive hybrid with a white collar, yellow bill and strong white markings on the side. This brings the total ducklings this season around the 55 mark so far ! I am wondering why such a good success rate, the best since I have been observing the river over the past 8 years. I have come to the conclusion that the very long harsh winter, and very cold non existent spring has had a lot to do with it. I think the survival element kicked in big time, and with most of the ducks experienced from previous years, many did not show up until their ducklings were several weeks old and safe from local predators. The fact that many people did not attempt to feed the ducklings early this year also had a big bearing on their survival, Well done ! We can now all enjoy feeding lots of ducks over the coming year. The cormorant showed up yesterday and gave the seagulls a lesson on how to catch eels and eat them without leaving the water !

To cap it all, what a fabulous sunset the other night, just magical !

When Ignorance Kills

It seems some locals are still oblivious to the dangers of tossing whole slices of bread en mass into the river. Today as I crossed the merryton footbridge, I could not believe my eyes when I saw a local man throwing about a dozen whole slices of bread into the river, causing a seagull feeding frenzy right on top of the swans and ducks !

I remonstrated with him, but he said he could'nt care less what I thought ! He displayed pure unadulterated ignorance, uncaring about the danger to the innocent wildlife.

He did not take time to look along the wall to see if the mother duck with 7 ducklings was there, I later saw her with 5 only !

I have no objection to people feeding the ducks and Swans, as long as they do it responsibly and do not encourage the predators on top of the other birds.

It is perfectly possible to feed the swans and ducks without being plagued with gulls, I have learned to do it for years, and it's not difficult if you follow a few simple rules.

Rule number 1 : BE PREPARED, have the BROWN bread already cut into a size that will fit a ducks bill. Throwing a large piece or slice will only attract gulls, and cannot be eaten instantly by any ducks !

Rule 2 : Drop the bread into the water close to the side, this will suit the ducks and swans and deter any gulls because they cannot fly up against a wall ! Only drop what can be eaten immediately, have NO surplus bread floating on the water !

Remember the swans and ducks will come right to your feet as long as you dont have a dog beside you that they can see - dogs are predators as far as the wildlife are concerned and will not come close.

If any seagulls come near, clap your hands and make it plain they are not wanted, they are intelligent and will soon get the message.

Rule 3 : Do not attempt to feed swans out of the water, they cannot escape and could get killed if someone comes along with a loose dog . Throwing bread into the grass will only encourage vermin, so choose a spot that suits the wildlife - not you !

Rule 4 : Do not be overt with the feeding, holding a big white carrier bag and throwing handfuls all over the place will only cause a gull feeding frenzy !

Dont give them mouldy bread it is poisonous to swans and ducks !

If you could'nt eat it yourself, then better to bin it.

Every year I have seen people throwing whole and half french sticks, whole crusty rolls straight out of the freezer, emptying whole sliced loaves into the river ! Then they wonder why they are plagued with gulls . Think about the logic of it, and allow for the fact that you want to feed something that has a mouth about the width of your thumb, whole slices and french sticks just won't do !

Using common sense and a few simple rules will make the river a lot safer for the young birds.

I have nothing against gulls, but they are flesh eating predators that should not be encouraged and left well alone.

When seagulls descend they will take anything that is floating on the surface - take a close look at the photo above and remember it !