Look Who's Down By The River.

This blog has had a long affair with two swans who inhabit the stretch of river below Grantchester millpond. We first met them back in 2011 nesting in viewing distance from the road. You can catch up on the whole saga by clicking here

We watched them as they raised six cygnets. But the following year disaster struck as the nest site was flooded out and the eggs washed away. Swans seem to learn from their mistakes however...

Last year (when this blog was "off-the-air") they built higher up on the nearby island. But this year they seem to have forgotten the harsh lesson of 2012 and are back nesting right next to the river again. I feared that a similar fate might befall them if we suffered any heavy rainfall. But yesterday....

Aaaah! Two little grey heads appeared from among mother's plumage. There may well be more hidden from view - I'll keep you posted.

Take care, Mrs Swan.

Sad News

Anyone living in, or reading blogs from, England will know that we've had a lot of rain lately. The wettest April for a hundred years I'm told. And since the first half of the month was fairly dry you can imagine what the rest of the month's been like! May has just continued the trend.

As I neared Grantchester Mill bridge I could see that the water-level was high and I feared the worst. Our swan's nest has been flooded by the rising river and the nest has been abandoned.

Just a few reeds and sticks remain to mark the spot. So no cygnets this summer for this pair. They've been so lucky to raise eleven young over the last two years.

Those of you with incredibly long and retentive memories may recall that last year I mentioned a swan living further downstream who was attacking rowing eights as they sped past. The swan, nicknamed Mr Asbo*, has got more aggressive each year until the decision was made to relocate him and his missus some 60 miles away You can read the story here if that's your kind of thing.

A pretty picture just to cheer you up:

Take care.

*for readers outside the UK I should explain that an Asbo is an 'Anti Social Behaviour Order '. This is a civil order served on those who behave in a loutish way where their offences do not warrant criminal action.

Full Circle

Last year we followed the Swan Family of the Mill, Grantchester as they raised their family of six. That brood has now left the family to make their way in the world, joining up with other youngsters to laze and romance their way through summer, without a care or responsibility in the world.

                                                                                                                                                                    Meanwhile back on exactly the same spot Mrs Swan has begun nest building once again, pulling up weed and debris around her to make a dry platform. Father was nowhere to be seen but he usually joins in the construction project, collecting material for the female to make the nest.

I left her to her housebuilding and had a look around the millpond. Kingcups were blooming on the little island behind the Old Vicarage....

....and the footbridge leading to the island looked as attractive as ever.

Our swan was reaching further and further to find reeds and weeds....

 ....and getting rather ambitious in her choice of building material....

                           

On a completely different subject Rajesh Dangi of Bangalore Daily Photo has just completed six years of posting a photo a day; wonderful "slice of life" pictures from the streets of his home city. Pay him a visit sometime.

Take care.

Old Friends

                                                                                                                                                                                
Out walking recently I encountered a couple of old friends of this blog....

....the pair of Mute Swans who raised six cygnets last summer. The family have now departed the tender care of their parents - chased off by their father in all probability. But the bright winter sunshine has already turned the thoughts of the parents to this year's brood perhaps; the male was passing choice pieces of weed to the missus when I saw them at Long Meadow.

Long Meadow

The meadow is an old water-meadow, a phrase often used and heard but seldom understood. These riverside meadows were designed so that they could be flooded throughout the harsh winter months. This was excellent news for the many  waders and ducks that flourished on these lands despite the attentions of the wildfowlers. But the real reason for the flooding was to keep the ground just a degree or two warmer, giving the grass an earlier start to its growing season. Interestingly the land on the opposite side of the river is being returned to its former glory, not for duck-shooting or for early pasture, but as a nature conservation area.

To see earlier posts about the swan family click on the 'Swanwatch' label to the right of this post.

Take care.

Swanwatch (7)

Our swan family is still to be seen on Grantchester Millpond. And there are still six cygnets. They've grown to almost adult size but still have the grey-brown plumage of immature birds. Some time in the next few months they will grow beautiful white feathers of adult birds, though their beaks will retain the dingy hue for quite a bit longer.

And mother makes seven

The transformation may well have started for the young birds are beginning to moult, as are their parents. Quite soon the cob (the male parent) will start to chase the youngsters away as his thoughts turn to next year's family. 

Those long necks come in handy

Can I see a few white feathers peeking through?

The young birds then join with others of their generation and spend a few carefree years together. During this time they will seek out a future mate and begin the courtship process. They seem in no hurry, which is just as well since swans pair up for life - you need to be sure about these things! Breeding does not take place till the males are about 4 years old though the females sometimes lay their first clutch of eggs at 3 years.

Take care.

Swanwatch (6)

After a few days of chilly winds and grey skies I stepped outside the back door this morning to find it much milder. A robin was singing in the oak tree and just for a second or two it felt positively spring-like. It still had that spring feeling as I walked down the road, though the pine-cones and conkers littering the path told clearly enough that it was early autumn. As I neared the old mill I wondered if the swans might be about; they have started to frequent the area again lately. Sure enough, out on the water was one of the adult birds and some of the family. The cygnets are beginning to have a little more confidence these days and venture off a short way on their own - they are becoming unruly teenagers in fact.

One of the adults was waiting patiently in mid-stream for the offspring to re-assemble so that they could all proceed  under the mill-bridge.

But what's this? The other parent bird, the female I presume, had started nest-building at the edge of the river, gathering all the vegetation she could reach and piling it up beneath her. Obviously they're not going to start nesting any time soon.  Maybe she could sense the feeling of spring too, or perhaps she's indicating to her partner that it's time to start chasing away the kids.

I've been reading all the bird books in my possession but can't find any reference to this kind of behaviour. Anyone out there able to shed any light?

For anyone wanting to see the earlier posts you can now simply click on the Swanwatch label on the right sidebar to bring the earlier posts into view.

Swanwatch (5)

Long time readers of this blog may have been wondering what has happened to the swan family since May. Since the family hatched and left the nest they've been very difficult to track down. My brother saw them while fishing on the river but they don't appear to have returned to the millpond at all during this period. It is normal for them to retreat to quieter stretches of water till the young increase in size but you can usually find them if you try. A couple of weeks ago I walked five miles up and down the river without seeing them. There are some inaccessible reaches and I guess that's where they were. But today my luck changed....

As I walked by the mill I saw the whole family. I was only just in time though; the pen (female) was leading them under the mill bridge and out of sight. I was pleased to see six cygnets have been raised (one more than last year). And don't you just love the orderly way in which they are proceeding with father at the back to guard their progress! This section of river has become rather weedy as the low water-levels have meant that the mill sluice has not been running and consequently the river is hardly flowing.

The family will stay together till at least the autumn and sometimes into the winter. But then the cob (male bird) will start to think about next year's brood and will chase the youngsters off.
Well, there are some times when you just don't want the kids around!

Take care.

Swanwatch (4)

Mr and Mrs Swan of The Millpond, Grantchester proudly announce the arrival of an as yet unidentified number of small, fluffy cygnets, hatched around 23rd May 2011. Mother and babies appear to be doing well. Further bulletins will be issued in the coming weeks. In the meantime the family have this fine view from their nest site.

Take care.

Swanwatch (3)

The nest - deserted

It's too early for the cygnets to have hatched out but there was no sign of either the male or female swan from the mill bridge. Maybe they have been scared off by somebody's dog, perhaps the number of passers-by gawping at them from the bridge has frightened them away. I lingered on the bridge as long as I could but no swan returned to the eggs.

The major cause of the loss of swan broods is said to be vandalism. In recent years as many as 100 swans have been killed in this senseless way on the River Lea in London alone. It's not a new problem either there are records of swan taunting going back through the centuries. There have also been a number of cases reported recently of swans being killed "for the pot" mainly by immigrants from Eastern Europe, some of whom do not share our views on conservation and see any wild animal or bird as "fair game".

OK, I'll stop kidding you, though the above thoughts were running through my mind as I stood alone on the bridge waiting in vain for the return of the pair. Next day the swans were back at the nest site once more so I hope all is well.

Back home

Take care.

Swanwatch (2)

Sitting tight

I'm pleased to report that our swan is still sitting on her eggs which she will need to do for 36 days before they hatch out. Meanwhile the male guards the nest against all intruders. I think all those stories one hears about swans breaking arms must stem from people who got too close to the nest. Even so it sounds pretty unlikely to me. We did have a "rogue male" just north of Cambridge who took his paternal duties to extremes and used to chase rowing eights who were practising on that stretch of river. But mostly, even at nesting time swans are a benign and graceful presence on our lakes and waterways.

Guard duty

Males and females ("cobs" and "pens" respectively) pair up for life and, as far as is known, lead pure and blameless lives. They build the nest together - the cob collecting material which the pen builds into a nest and when the young hatch they look after them tenderly, passing them choice pieces of weed until the cygnets get the idea of finding food for themselves. Although they are known as "Mute Swans" they do make occasional low grunts and quiet whistling sounds but never kick up such an unseemly cacophony as geese are liable to do.

And how do we reward them for their excellent example. Well, until recently pretty diabolically. They were notionally all owned by the King or Queen, which while it protected them from the peasant classes, meant that the nobles could do much as they pleased. What pleased them was to pinion them to prevent them flying off, cut nicks in their beaks and feathers to mark them and eventually to consume them. Henry III is supposed to have ordered 351 swans for Christmas dinner - he must have had quite a party, we're talking about 3 tons of meat here! In the modern era we poisoned hundreds of swans by using lead fishing weights, which are now thankfully illegal.

So sit tight, Mrs Swan and, I hope,we'll have happier news to report soon.

Take care.

Swanwatch (1)

Swans are nesting once again beside Grantchester Millpond in full view of the road. Last summer they raised five cygnets - lets hope they can have similar success this year.

 Take care.