Jill's Waterside World
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26 July 2007

 

Where are all the insects? I’m especially missing the damselflies; this time last year the air on the canal was alive with little neon blue winged sticks doing there thing in the sun. This year there are days when I don’t see any at all.

 

This morning I wandered outside to a world full of ducklings, tiny ones, almost grown ones and a good selection of sizes in between.

It appears that the coots have had a territory shuffle, which tends to happen when they have a new brood. The pair with one chick have moved a few yards west so the border with the next door family of 4 tiny chicks is now immediately below me.

Any small “gaps” in territories are quickly exploited by other waterfowl. They know that if they occupy the lily boxes between territories, coots arriving to see them off which quickly become embroiled in a dispute with their immediate coot neighbour. So the duck families and moorhens can find a place to rest; as long as they can put up with the coots screaming threats at each other that is.

 

25 July 2007

 

Cootling has decided he wants to be a duckling and keeps trotting off to join a family of ducks, much to his parents’ disgust! Mum and Dad are torn between letting their sole surviving little darling play with his new friends and their normal aggressive stance when there are “invaders” on their territory. Of course, cootling shows his own budding aggressiveness when Mum and Dad chase off his new friends just when he is having fun.

We can learn a lot from young things of any species

 

The floods haven't affected the canal, thank goodness, I shudder at the thought of what must have happened to the slower bankside dwellers on the recently flooded rivers.

 

18th July 2007

 

It is a really beautiful balmy July evening. Flocks of tits are flitting through the trees on the edge of the park. The swifts are hawking high and the occasional early bat is with them – I had to look more than twice to be sure, but there they were.

Ms Duck has brought her ducklings to spend the night in the Iris boxes; I can hear their lovely soft calls to each other as they settle for the night. For me the sound of ducklings is one of the most tranquil, soothing sounds there is. If I am very lucky I they will sooth me so sleep tonight.

I missed out last night, just as the ducklings were approaching the boxes a fish jumped. The startled ducklings sped along the canal as if their lives depended on it. If it had been a carp, their lives would have depended on it.

 

 

15 July 2007


Today is St Swithins Day, often also flying ant day.  Every crack in every paving stone releases its treasure of swarming ants, but… it thundered so they didn’t. Keep those windows closed, it won’t be long now.

 

 

14 July 2007

 

Sadness on the water this morning, another chick has gone. The coot parents were calling constantly, poor things. Each time they entered the water they were checking carefully before going in then getting out again as soon as they had done whatever they needed to do. So it looks as if we have pike in the canal.

 

13 July 2007

 

A small orange spider has attracted my attention today, It may be because I have no idea what it is yet, or maybe it’s the thought of an orange spider living in a pot of pink fuchsias that gets me.  Whichever, it’s an interesting little creature.  If anyone out there knows what it is please drop me a line.  And yes, I'll try to get a better photo.


 


I had a search and found a fantastic website for identifying things, it is called Wild about Britain, and the spider gallery is HERE - oh, and my little friend?  I think it's a garden spider..

 

So to cover my blushes I just had to take a picture of my hanging bucket.

 

  

12 July 2007

 

It has gone 10 this evening and there are still traces of blue in the sky. The birds have been replaced by bats.  Little pipistrelles, barely visible against the patches of sky showing between the trees, hunt their supper just above the canal.

The fish have risen to hunt insects too, and will also accept the occasional offering of torn up bits of bread or the odd sweet corn kernel. Those large, old, wise fish move slowly, invisible until their fins create little swirls on the surface of the water. For a long time I had no idea what caused those little disturbances, it was as if something came up through the water to drink air, making strange sucking noises as they helped themselves to any insect which flew too low. Now I understand and love that sound, it tells me the fish have risen and the warm days are here.

 


 Angle shades moth on the trellis

10 July 2007

 

It's still and peaceful outside this morning, not exactly warm, but quite pleasant.  Large threatening clouds are rolling over the sky, more thunderstorms on their way perhaps.   34 fish for breakfast this morning.   The baby coots are growing and loosing their little red head feathers.  Poop-arse is looking forlorn, he ate a whole suet ball over the weekend and I'm not putting another out until next weekend - my plants need time to recover from all that fertilising!

 

This morning I picked my first bunch of home grown sweet peas, bliss...

 

 

Damselflies puzzle me. We have the ones with brown bodies with an electric blue bar and the ones which are all electric blue. What they appear to love more than anything is to line up along the inside of my window, with their noses to the glass, and sleep… well it looks like they are asleep.

I used to rescue them and pop them outside onto the nearest plant, but gave up when I realised that they just fly straight back in again and resume their previous positions. Ah well, each to their own.

 

7 July 2007

 

My breakfast guests this morning were:-

5 teenage coots plus parents
3 baby coots plus parents
2 swans
8 (or thereabouts) large carp
Hundreds of fish fry (presumed to be carp)

What I really would like to know is, how do they know I’m awake?  As soon as I begin to stir they start to congregate.  Then, when they hear the door to the terrace click open it’s a mad scramble for the best feeding place – all keeping just within the bounds of their territories of course!

The carp puzzle me, they appear to be looking after the fry and I really didn’t think fish did that.  Time after time I’ve watched the large fish back away from a bit of bread because the little ones have found it and are feeding.  The Greyhead group – so called because one of them has a very visible light grey top to its head, are the locals here, though others pass through.  Puzzling, time to read a little about carp I think.

 

 

6 July 2007

 

It was cool and windy today; the coots are now two weeks old. They didn't put in much of an appearance; the wind was too strong for them to venture far out on the canal unless they were in the lee of an adult.

Solomon and Serena sailed up just as the bread came out of the machine. I sometimes think they can smell baking bread a mile off; they so often turn up right on cue. Serena is very interested in the baby coots and often goes up to the iris beds and watches them, much to the horror of the poor little things. Mum and Dad do their best to shoo this over curious visitor away, but all of that feather ruffling and calling is pure posturing, and both sides know it.

 


Many of the pot plants I’ve hung over the canal have been battered in the wind. Or should I say I think it was the wind, it wouldn’t surprise me if the poop-arses have taken to sitting in them. Talking of poop-arses, one of them has adopted me and very kindly keeps my terrace free from spilled edibles; I do wish I could find a way of letting it know that I don’t really need to be rewarded with lots of little “thank you” presents all over the place!