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Regular viewers may recall my rearing a few Mallards over the last couple of years and introducing them to the river. Today I can reveal the story of one of those remarkable Mallards and her contribution to the beautiful white duck variety introduced today. Last year one of my Mallard ducks nested in a boat not once but TWICE, the first time half her eggs were stolen, she ended up hatching 3 in April 2011, one of which I saw laying dead on the pontoon (unexplained by the boat owner), the remaining two died of cold shortly after I arrived at the harbour because they were in the water too long and unable to get out. After this tragedy she nested in yet another boat (boats rarely move in the harbour), I resolved that this tragedy would not happen again. The eggs had been laid in the bow of the second boat on the floor, should the owner have used the boat the eggs would have been smashed for sure. With the harbour masters permission I removed both the duck and the eggs and took them home to the coop. Unfortunately because she didn't have her mate she would not settle and would not sit on the eggs, I had no choice but to let her return to her mate and put the eggs in an incubator.Within 2 weeks she had disappeared from the harbour but her mate was still around , I suspect she was killed by either the Mink or the Otter in the harbour. In due course 4 of her eggs hatched in the incubator, and as luck would have it, two of them were female and bore a remarkable resemblance to her.When they were about 10 weeks old and just ready to fly I released them into the river where they integrated successfully with the other ducks. My close daily contact with all the river ducks meant that I could observe them in detail, and looked forward to this spring to see if they would mate. Sure enough she did, and built a beautiful nest on the island strip at the road bridge, it seemed the perfect spot safe and camouflaged.
The poor duck however was not aware that the April Spring tide would swamp the nest, and any heavy river spate could do the same. I agonised over what to do, knowing the impending tide was due and the river was also in spate, it seemed wrong to let the nest be destroyed when I knew how to save the eggs. The day before the flood I removed 6 eggs from the nest and replaced them with hens eggs, this was in case the nest got flooded but not washed away and she would continue to sit on them. The following day the raging river was well above the nest level and I knew all would be lost, I was right ! Anyway I placed 5 eggs in the incubator because one was cracked and had to be discarded, they were already more than half way through their incubation period and 4 hatched within a couple of weeks.
To my astonishment 3 of them were beautiful yellow ducklings - I was gobsmacked and realised she must have mated with one of the 4 or 5 hybrid drakes that are still around from the previous blonde ducks we had a few years ago. The 4th one is a normal mallard drake, and the 5th did not hatch at all. It has been a lot of work but such a privilege to have saved reared and released these beautiful ducks today.
This is not the end of the story however, after losing her nest to the flood my remarkable duck built another nest on the building site of the new pipeline at brochers brae.
She chose the only bush that the contractors did not uproot and built her nest under it. I was terrified that she would be run over by the heavy machinery constantly in use and asked the digger drivers to be careful - which they did. As I reported in a previous post vandals kicked over all the temporary fencing close to the nest, scared her off and the gulls got her eggs ! After choosing two apparently safe nest sites she was deprived of rearing a brood yet again ! I have used the word remarkable intentionally, because my intrepid duck is again sitting on eggs in a new location for the 3rd time this year, remarkable indeed ! It puts paid to the notion that you can't rear a mallard and return it to the wild, I also think her sister is sitting on eggs too, and I should know within 2 weeks if both are successful, wish them both well ! Her white ducks in the river today appear to resemble white Campbell's, and at 9 weeks are the same size as a Mallard.
The sequence of pics shows the Grand mother duck in the harbour last year, then her 4 offspring, then the current Mother duck on both her previous destroyed nests. (she is the current nesting mother of the white and normal mallard, both seen hatching together in the incubator). After witnessing all this, my admiration and love for ducks grows even more !
Pleasant surprise on the Swans island this evening, another Duck with 9 ducklings newly hatched. Today at last gave us some respite from the cold northerly winds, and allowed the ducklings to catch a few flies. We currently have four separate broods, of 3, 5, 7, and 9, all of them under a week old - the losses as far as I'm aware are now 49. It looks like many of the ducks that lost their nests to the April flood, have had second clutches now coming on stream. I also know of at least two ducks sitting and should soon have broods, lets hope the crows have other prey in their sights meanwhile. I also noticed a drake with a broken wing this evening, with another one found dead recently I hope we don't have a local villain homing on on the poor ducks ! Needless to say, if you see any abuse of the river wildlife call the police or Scottish SPCA.
The duck with 5 ducklings was escorted by her mate this evening, this is quite rare because the drakes usually have little to do with a ducks brood.
The persistent low temperatures are a real drag on everything, less insect food for the wildlife and I notice the birds are behaving as though winter was approaching - very weird indeed ! The Swans and Cygnets spend a lot of time on the island due to lack of food in the harbour and river. I am feeding them at least twice a day and the cygnets are the size of adult ducks now. The ducklings are still being taken and we are now down to 8 remaining, the signs are not good for this year.
Another Mother duck turned up yesterday with 10 ducklings, she appears to still have them today. Unfortunately the mother with 6 is now down to 3. The running tally at the moment is predators 41 ducks 13, I'm fairly sure this will tilt even more towards the predators. I know of several ducks that are still "sitting" so I'm hopeful that we will have more to come, the constant spring like temperatures seem to have prolonged the duck mating season, and some who lost their first clutches are nesting again.
With only 10 days to mid summer it's chilly for June, Weather forecaster on TV says frost in the glens tonight. Could this be the start of a new ice age with cold summer's the first signs ? Although down south the weather is worse from the rain point of view, we seem to have relentless cold northerly winds month after month! Since the deaths of all 38 ducklings so far this year, hope springs eternal with the first new one's I spotted yesterday for the past month. A mother duck turned up on the island with 6 ducklings, but today she is down to 5, we can only hope that she will save some of them. the cold temperatures just don't help, with lack of insects for the ducklings.
Coming up for one month old, the Cygnets are growing at a rate of knots and turning into eating machines !
I note that the Nairn Seagulls are now hatching their young and it won't be long before we hear all the complaints about Seagull attacks , mess etc. Each year I get a first hand view of my neighbours rooftop nest site. I have often watched with great interest, intrigued by the whole evolutionary process. It's fascinating to compare species and their needs and priorities for survival. The young gull chicks of a week or so have quite an advanced wingspan when tiny, compared to their body size. If you compare that to the swan cygnet which has a tiny wingspan even when a month old,(compare the top pics). Both species priorities are different because the gulls have to learn to fly quickly, whereas the swans ability to swim and reach down for food is more important - hence the growth of the neck length is a priority. The gull parents have to provide all the chicks food, but the Swan cygnets have to get their own. Most gulls lay 3 eggs, and in this case it appears one hasn't hatched, the camouflage of the young chicks is excellent of course.
Probably the best day weather wise this week, prompted a fine bathing session for the Swans.
Penny gave me a grateful reminder of why I got the huge tree root removed from the Moat last month. Her ability to take off and land in the moat is essential for the Swans Safety in the event of an emergency. It's removal also stopped it being washed back and forth with each high tide, damaging the moat and island itself.
In addition it could have been used to ambush the young cygnets, today was an example of how the swans sometimes approach the moat, with a young cygnet leading the way - a future leader perhaps ?
Despite a bit of June sunshine, if your in the breeze it's not that warm. However the Cygnets are getting bolder every day and Penny no longer tolerates them trying to get on her back. It's noticeable that their necks are getting longer, no doubt so they can quickly reach deeper for food. Today they had a quick spurt in the Harbour, watched over closely by the parents - they are wary of the Otter in the harbour! Short vid below.
Finally I saw who was emptying my peanut feeder so quickly today. In 3 simple moves, a clever crow hauled the peanut feeder up high enough to upend the feeder, then drop to the ground to eat the nuts! Sequence of pics shows how ! They are one of the most intelligent of birds, and working in pairs can easily take all the ducklings from a mother duck within days. Take a close look at those talons and beak !
The constant search for weed and greenery took the Cygnets upstream today, even at low tide. It's easy for us to forget that there is no soft tender grass growing within the river banks, yet plenty on the river path verges out of reach for the cygnets ! The journey back to the island took them down the rapids, a thrilling ride for creatures so small, swans like calm placid water conditions, but needs must.
Today almost started like Flaming June - compared to what we've had lately ! The Swan family were in fine form in the moat, bathing, diving, and sporting around with the cygnets. (short video below ) Penny is beginning to lose a few feathers and will be moulting before the month is out, I tried a few artistic shots with the sunlight reflections through a feather. I suppose it could pass for another galaxy somewhere !
