 |
| Now don't tug, dear |
 |
| I'll just go and get some more, dear, is that right? |
 |
| There's a nice twig over there ... |
 |
| Did you know that moorhens have teeth? And scarlet underpants? |
Posted by Pauline.
Showing posts with label Moorhens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moorhens. Show all posts
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Return of the moorhens
Once again the moorhens gallinula chloropus gallinules poules-d'eau are building a nest on the millstream outside our bedroom window. One bird (probably the female) is directing operations and weaving twigs into the cushion shape that will be the base of the nest. The other (the male) is doing most of the fetching and carrying.
We cannot tell whether or not this female is Myrtle, our soap opera star from last year, or one of her daughters. The male may well be inexperienced, because last year's male disappeared before the chicks hatched.
The flag iris, site of the moorhen nest for the past three years, is this year spread out across the stream bed, and looks unlikely to produce enough cover for the birds. This nest is an innovation, set upon a stone, possibly a piece of masonry from the old forge. However, as Tim puts it, they will have to go up another six inches to be in with a chance.
Presently the water is clearer than we have seen it for years, and there is plenty of waterweed. Today we heard the clear whistle of a kingfisher for the first time since autumn last year. The mallards anas platyrhynchos canards colvert are nesting a little further upstream than last year. The duck is as dignified and the drake as attentive as ever. It's getting better!
Posted by Pauline.
Posted by Pauline.
Monday, 14 July 2014
Only its mother ...
... could think a moorhen chick was beautiful. They are bald, beaky balls of black fluff. These two little chaps (taken 25th June) have a certain cuteness about them, I suppose. They usually go to the edge of the millstream under the overhanging vegetation to be fed.
These two were scrambling around in the iris leaves. They used their stubby wings like grapples to climb over the stems.
Myrtle is always in charge, of feeding, of cleaning up afterwards, of construction work.
But how many chicks are there? And - how many Myrtles? This bird seems at some point to have injured a wing, and never gets it quite flat against its body.
On Saturday (6th July) it rained heavily. Myrtle swung into action to reinforce her brood platform. On Sunday (7th July) she continued, while the second adult led the chicks upstream out of the way. Myrtle worried at the iris stems around the platform area, her activity highlighted by the sudden onset of vigorous shaking of a small group of leaves that could not be attributed to the water flow. Only occasional glimpses of her could be seen, which is her purpose in selecting that nest site and winning it against all odds. When a leaf finally broke off, she immediately took it to the platform and got weaving. At one point she came in with a poplar leaf, and that went in too. She worked at this for over an hour, while yours truly watched, fascinated.
Myrtle only stopped when a small flotilla of mallards barged through the middle of the iris bed. This was an adult female (cane) with three well grown youngsters (canetons) at least as big as she was. La cane could easily have been "our" duck whose progress we observed over so many weeks. If so, she did well to raise three ducklings to the point where they will soon be independent. Myrtle's crew has a long way to go before that stage.
She had to reinforce the platform again today (14th July). The second adult seemed rather dithery, swimming up and down aimlessly most of the time, although she may have been guarding the chicks again. One chick insists on staying with Myrtle, and was treated to a sharp peck for getting out of hand. In one furious burst of activity the adults were working together, Myrtle (the dominant bird, generally the female in any kind of pair) was working on the platform while her helper carried materials in from the bank.
The helper is probably a daughter, a younger sibling or even an aunt. This kind of cooperation outside the pair bond is found normally between birds that are related. She has a small platform of her own, under the far bank. And some day she may become Myrtle and take over the iris bed.
 |
| Wot? Eh wot? Anyone there? |
These two were scrambling around in the iris leaves. They used their stubby wings like grapples to climb over the stems.
 |
| Boo! |
 |
| Removing a faecal sac |
 |
| Count the fuzzy black blobs. Are they chicks or shadows? |
 |
| Three chicks. And the one at the back is bigger. Hang on, is that another leg? |
 |
| How many chicks? |
 |
| Yes, it's another leg. And where did the other one at the front come from? Five chicks. |
 |
| Brooding |
Myrtle only stopped when a small flotilla of mallards barged through the middle of the iris bed. This was an adult female (cane) with three well grown youngsters (canetons) at least as big as she was. La cane could easily have been "our" duck whose progress we observed over so many weeks. If so, she did well to raise three ducklings to the point where they will soon be independent. Myrtle's crew has a long way to go before that stage.
She had to reinforce the platform again today (14th July). The second adult seemed rather dithery, swimming up and down aimlessly most of the time, although she may have been guarding the chicks again. One chick insists on staying with Myrtle, and was treated to a sharp peck for getting out of hand. In one furious burst of activity the adults were working together, Myrtle (the dominant bird, generally the female in any kind of pair) was working on the platform while her helper carried materials in from the bank.
The helper is probably a daughter, a younger sibling or even an aunt. This kind of cooperation outside the pair bond is found normally between birds that are related. She has a small platform of her own, under the far bank. And some day she may become Myrtle and take over the iris bed.
Monday, 23 June 2014
Brueeeuk! Puk-puk-puk
Or, she's done it! This morning we saw Myrtle the moorhen, back on her favourite flag iris bed with at least two newly hatched chicks. This is a definite case of the triumph of hope over adversity. There's no sign of a resident male - she must just have used her gentleman friend as a sperm donor. He probably came from a neighbouring territory where he had a mate of his own. That explains his somewhat shifty look as he sidled away. Myrtle appears to be a single parent by choice. That won't get her a council flat.
She has modified the ruins of the old nest to create a nursery platform on which she was brooding the chicks. As chicks will, they were shooting off in all directions, and she was rounding them up. Many of the iris leaves are arched over, and she has woven them together forming a bower in which she can hide them if she wants to. In this picture, the yellow horizontal stems are part of the platform.
Unfortunately the growth of vegetation has made it almost impossible to photograph the little family, but we hope to bring you better pictures soon. Meanwhile...
She has modified the ruins of the old nest to create a nursery platform on which she was brooding the chicks. As chicks will, they were shooting off in all directions, and she was rounding them up. Many of the iris leaves are arched over, and she has woven them together forming a bower in which she can hide them if she wants to. In this picture, the yellow horizontal stems are part of the platform.
 |
| Myrtle's nursery |
 |
| Myrtle is behind the left hand teasel, and I'm sure that's the red head and yellow beak of a chick |
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Oh, deer
It's déjà vu all over again. Yesterday I spotted Myrtle the moorhen having a spot of nookie with a gentleman friend. She then drove him away. For the first time since her male went missing her "flags" were showing under her tail, and they continue to show as she puk-puk-puks up and down the millstream once more. She still isn't achieving much but all the signs are she's feeling happier, despite the destruction of her nest.
The tawny owls are repeating their courtship behaviour from the end of February: excited "yik-yik-yik-yik" calling by the female in the hangar on Wednesday night, with a softly hooted response from the male and a gruff intervention by another female, then the "huia" call from her and trilling from him on Thursday, which we recorded. The timescale seems somewhat telescoped, but this time the pair are not strangers to one another, not to mention that there is not much of the breeding season left. The trail camera has arrived, and we are going to see what we can see tonight.
Tawny owls do not have two broods in a year unless they lose the first one. The timing is just about right for a second brood, and going on Baron's hunting success there is an excellent supply of voles. Another possibility is that work at Moulin de Chevarnay may have destroyed the nest. The huge evergreen hedge (too fine for leylandii, I think they are thuyas} has been cut down from about five metres to one metre a couple of weeks ago. All the machinery for digging a fosse septique was there plus lorries taking away the spoil. The noise and people will have disrupted quite a few nesting birds. At least our view is enhanced by the distant roofs and weeping willow that we couldn't see before.
We have one newcomer to report - a roe buck Chevreuil européen (Capreolus capreolus). Tim spotted him yesterday lying in one of the mowed areas of the meadow. Today we both saw him under the nearest of the big old willows, or rather under a network of new growth projecting from an old fallen branch that remained connected to the tree. His antlers still have velvet on them, and he's scraped some of it off since yesterday. He's obviously found this to be an ideal spot to rest, scrape his antlers, feed and shelter from the rain.
Just as long as you stay out of the vegetable garden, matey. And the orchard. You don't know how good you taste.
The tawny owls are repeating their courtship behaviour from the end of February: excited "yik-yik-yik-yik" calling by the female in the hangar on Wednesday night, with a softly hooted response from the male and a gruff intervention by another female, then the "huia" call from her and trilling from him on Thursday, which we recorded. The timescale seems somewhat telescoped, but this time the pair are not strangers to one another, not to mention that there is not much of the breeding season left. The trail camera has arrived, and we are going to see what we can see tonight.
Tawny owls do not have two broods in a year unless they lose the first one. The timing is just about right for a second brood, and going on Baron's hunting success there is an excellent supply of voles. Another possibility is that work at Moulin de Chevarnay may have destroyed the nest. The huge evergreen hedge (too fine for leylandii, I think they are thuyas} has been cut down from about five metres to one metre a couple of weeks ago. All the machinery for digging a fosse septique was there plus lorries taking away the spoil. The noise and people will have disrupted quite a few nesting birds. At least our view is enhanced by the distant roofs and weeping willow that we couldn't see before.
We have one newcomer to report - a roe buck Chevreuil européen (Capreolus capreolus). Tim spotted him yesterday lying in one of the mowed areas of the meadow. Today we both saw him under the nearest of the big old willows, or rather under a network of new growth projecting from an old fallen branch that remained connected to the tree. His antlers still have velvet on them, and he's scraped some of it off since yesterday. He's obviously found this to be an ideal spot to rest, scrape his antlers, feed and shelter from the rain.
 |
| Awwwww.... |
 |
| More than just a pronghorn |
Just as long as you stay out of the vegetable garden, matey. And the orchard. You don't know how good you taste.
Friday, 23 May 2014
Where there's life
The flag iris have reappeared as the waters of the bief begin to fall. The plant is flattened by the force of the flow and it's impossible to tell at this stage whether it will spring back up or stay like that. There is little sign of the moorhen's nest.
However Myrtle has been through to check. She mooched about on the iris, pulling at a leaf here and there, then had a good groom and swam away.
 |
| No point in trying to rebuild while the river's at this level... |
However Myrtle has been through to check. She mooched about on the iris, pulling at a leaf here and there, then had a good groom and swam away.
 |
| Got to look your best if you're to find another mate |
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Gone
We've just had 55 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours. The bief has risen by 15 centimetres.
Just enough.
Just enough.
Myrtle awakes
This morning, after 16 hours and 32mm of steady rain, the moorhen's nest in the millstream beneath our window was awash. This was clearly a situation on Myrtle's mental chart of things she could deal with, and she went straight into action. Normally a pair would work together to reinforce a nest, but one bird on her own can still do the job.
She pulled iris leaves to pieces and dragged them to the nest. Any suitable piece of leaf or twig in the vicinity was called into service and she swam to and fro collecting them. Each piece was inserted and woven in with care. She even bent over whole iris shoots.
After half an hour's work, the platform was well out of the water.
And then she went away again.
She pulled iris leaves to pieces and dragged them to the nest. Any suitable piece of leaf or twig in the vicinity was called into service and she swam to and fro collecting them. Each piece was inserted and woven in with care. She even bent over whole iris shoots.
After half an hour's work, the platform was well out of the water.
And then she went away again.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
We're terribly worried about Myrtle...
It was all going so well... the lovely new home, in a popular location well worth fighting for...
...construction progressing nicely...
...the bashful bride...
On 23rd April the first egg appeared.
...proud husband at her side...
...quick to lend a helping hand...
...And then everything changed.
By 28th April, we had realised that we were seeing only the female moorhen, and only occasionally, at that. The male has disappeared.
 |
| Nest 19/04/2014 |
 | |
| Nest 21.04.2014 |
 |
| Female moorhen leaving the nest |
 |
| 23/04/2014 the first egg |
 |
| Egg being rearranged |
 |
| Building continues |
 | |
| Sitting |
 | |
| All's well with the world |
The following day, the egg was still there, or possibly this is another egg.
 |
| 24/04 (at 6:45 am, hence the poor quality) another egg |
 |
| All covered and secure |
By 28th April, we had realised that we were seeing only the female moorhen, and only occasionally, at that. The male has disappeared.
 |
| 28/04 a thatching of fresh grass, but no birds |
 |
| 04/05 the nest is withstanding the rising water - but no birds |
The female swims past from time to time, in silence. No more quiet "Puk-Puk-Puk" contact calls, she is totally alone. She pulls at an iris leaf, or flicks a bit of twig onto the nest, but with no great purpose. She seems bereft, with no idea what she is meant to do. Her instincts cannot cope with this situation.
We have no idea what has happened to the male. Possibly the big dog fox I saw at the weekend got him, or a pike in the deeper stretch of the bief by the walnut tree. Or maybe the mallard drake killed him - the mallards' nest on the bank is only a couple of metres away, and he is very aggressive with other drakes. To be continued - maybe.
We have no idea what has happened to the male. Possibly the big dog fox I saw at the weekend got him, or a pike in the deeper stretch of the bief by the walnut tree. Or maybe the mallard drake killed him - the mallards' nest on the bank is only a couple of metres away, and he is very aggressive with other drakes. To be continued - maybe.
Sunday, 23 March 2014
Mighty Moorhen
This is obviously an area where moorhens gallinula chloropus (gallinules poules d'eau) breed successfully, the bridge over the bief being a prime feature in the best territory. We have blogged about these confiding birds several times, for example here.
For the past couple of weeks we have been hearing "pip..pip..pip" noises from the waterside, which signal the presence of a pair of moorhens, walking or swimming along the water's edge, and periodically stopping to view a choice piece of real estate where they can build a nest. Today the inevitable happened - two couples met, competing for the same territory. One male (probably) was up on the top of the bank.
The other male (almost certainly) rushed up the bank at him.
Chaos ensued....
'
They hit the bief in a great fountain of water, squawking loudly, leaning backward to kick with their long finned toes, while the females (presumably) took cover. The Marquess of Queensbury's rules forbidding biting, kicking or gouging clearly did not apply, while pecking and water boarding were the order of the day. After about 30 seconds of punishment handed out by both sides, one bird eventually fled (flew! how often do you see that?) downstream, leaving the victor in possession - until the next encounter.
These punch-ups were repeated at intervals of about two hours throughout the day. They are, as I write this shortly before midnight, at it again. Tim has threatened to get some logs out of the chaufferie to bung at them if they keep it up all night.
In spite of the beating the birds give to each other, nobody was seriously hurt and the females were duly impressed, which is what it's all about, really.
For the past couple of weeks we have been hearing "pip..pip..pip" noises from the waterside, which signal the presence of a pair of moorhens, walking or swimming along the water's edge, and periodically stopping to view a choice piece of real estate where they can build a nest. Today the inevitable happened - two couples met, competing for the same territory. One male (probably) was up on the top of the bank.
 |
| Who, me? |
The other male (almost certainly) rushed up the bank at him.
 |
| Yes, you! |
Chaos ensued....
'
 |
| All hell broke loose |
They hit the bief in a great fountain of water, squawking loudly, leaning backward to kick with their long finned toes, while the females (presumably) took cover. The Marquess of Queensbury's rules forbidding biting, kicking or gouging clearly did not apply, while pecking and water boarding were the order of the day. After about 30 seconds of punishment handed out by both sides, one bird eventually fled (flew! how often do you see that?) downstream, leaving the victor in possession - until the next encounter.
These punch-ups were repeated at intervals of about two hours throughout the day. They are, as I write this shortly before midnight, at it again. Tim has threatened to get some logs out of the chaufferie to bung at them if they keep it up all night.
 |
| To the victor the spoils |
In spite of the beating the birds give to each other, nobody was seriously hurt and the females were duly impressed, which is what it's all about, really.
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Why somethings take longer.............. to do!!
July fifth, twenty twelve.
There I was, sitting in a chair on the bridge with a glass of Munster* in hand, listening to Deep Purple's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" and watching the sun go down.
No... one better, I was grabbing the warmth of the last rays whilst watching mayflies dancing in July, when.... suddenly... the view through the "macronoculars" was momentarily obliterated by a huge dark object.
Focus....
You might think that the ant-eating cat had blocked my view.... but you'd've been wrong. A male Blackcap [Sylvia artricapilla] Fauvette à tête noire had snatched a tasty morsel to feed a young-un.
Re-focus...
The next ten minutes were spent watching the Blackcap feeding a chick. Flit, feed, flit, feed.... on and on!
Also, there were a couple of Moorhen [Gallinula chloropus] Poule d'eau chicks chugging around below me... feeding themselves now... there was an adult around, up by the walnut. Probably a last feed before retiring to their "veranda" for the night.
Re-focus....
The "city-boys"... Grand Pressigny's House Martins came through, feeding low.... a sure sign of bad weather. The sun was behind Grandmont now anyway and it was getting quite chilly.... so I decided to head indoors... the Munster was finished anyway!!
As I turned round I saw a 'short' rainbow over the Bois du Favier.
The day had started badly.... the intention was to carry on with the maintenance of the meadow and potager after returning from the market. [ie... mowing!]
We never made it to the market... it started raining and nothing on the list was too important to hasten for [but we always feel sorry for the traders when it is miserable]... and it put a kybosh on the mowing too... grass, now wet, won't cut properly! Find something 'indoors' to do...
I started to write out a long intended, bird species list.... finished it too! There are about 120 species we could/should see here... we've seen about eighty. There are some.... Tree Sparrow and Coal Tit being a couple... that we should see but haven't. And yet others... Wood Sandpiper in Summer, Cattle Egret and Great Egret in mid-winter... that we shouldn't have.
Then, later, the weather turned for the better, so..... all intended up the spout.... I took a stroll round the meadow to see if there were any major patches of Creeping Thistle [Cirsium arvense]chardon des champs that I'd missed the previous day. I have no intention of trying to eradicate the Creeping Thistle.... it is too important a food plant for the wildlife around here.... I just want to control it enough to stop huge clouds of seed blowing over the neigbouring fields!!
The sun came out and brought with it a host of insects that had been sheltering in the nooks and crannies of tree bark, or under leaves.... dashed back in for the camera.... and managed to grab a few shots before it clouded over again.
One of the first in the frame was this Map butterfly [Araschinia levana] la Carte géographique which obliged by posing with its wings open.... I've got enough shots of the underwing to publish my own atlas.
These are the summer brood.... spring [overwintered] specimens are so different on the upper wing as to appear a different species.
Susan of "Days on the Claise" blogged about them here and there seem to be an awful lot more around here than last year.
Also around were Red Admiral, Peacock, Marbled White, Silver-Washed Fritillary, Meadow Brown and a White Admiral.
However, around in even greater numbers were the Damselflies. Plenty of male Banded Demoiselles and some brilliant emerald green females...
... and a few Beautiful Demoiselle males up near the wier.
One damsel that caught my eye was this male Blue Featherleg [Platycnemis penepipes] l'Agrion à larges pattes which was posing nicely at the edge of one of the new "Paths"#, but there were also Bluets and Bluetails around, males definitely, females probably, but I need to go out deliberately to photograph as many as possible and then sit down in fron of this screen with the "bible" - Dijkstra & Lewington, to identify what we do have. I wonder how long before I acheive that?
Also around were Gomphidae, possibly a Western Clubtail as Susan has seen them here, but when it got close enough to see more clearly, the tail seemed to be very markedly "clubbed" and it could have been a Pincertail [Also seen here by Susan and mentioned in the "Days on the Claise" entry.]
So, no mowing.... but a provisional Bird List under the belt... after about six years of deliberating!!
*The Alsace beer... not the cheese!
# One advantage of cutting through beds of chest-high nettle is that it falls cleanly, leaving a high, sharp-cut edge that all sorts of insects like to perch upon!!
There I was, sitting in a chair on the bridge with a glass of Munster* in hand, listening to Deep Purple's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" and watching the sun go down.
No... one better, I was grabbing the warmth of the last rays whilst watching mayflies dancing in July, when.... suddenly... the view through the "macronoculars" was momentarily obliterated by a huge dark object.
Focus....
You might think that the ant-eating cat had blocked my view.... but you'd've been wrong. A male Blackcap [Sylvia artricapilla] Fauvette à tête noire had snatched a tasty morsel to feed a young-un.
Re-focus...
The next ten minutes were spent watching the Blackcap feeding a chick. Flit, feed, flit, feed.... on and on!
Also, there were a couple of Moorhen [Gallinula chloropus] Poule d'eau chicks chugging around below me... feeding themselves now... there was an adult around, up by the walnut. Probably a last feed before retiring to their "veranda" for the night.
Re-focus....
The "city-boys"... Grand Pressigny's House Martins came through, feeding low.... a sure sign of bad weather. The sun was behind Grandmont now anyway and it was getting quite chilly.... so I decided to head indoors... the Munster was finished anyway!!
As I turned round I saw a 'short' rainbow over the Bois du Favier.
 |
| Just a shower... just that cloud! |
The day had started badly.... the intention was to carry on with the maintenance of the meadow and potager after returning from the market. [ie... mowing!]
We never made it to the market... it started raining and nothing on the list was too important to hasten for [but we always feel sorry for the traders when it is miserable]... and it put a kybosh on the mowing too... grass, now wet, won't cut properly! Find something 'indoors' to do...
I started to write out a long intended, bird species list.... finished it too! There are about 120 species we could/should see here... we've seen about eighty. There are some.... Tree Sparrow and Coal Tit being a couple... that we should see but haven't. And yet others... Wood Sandpiper in Summer, Cattle Egret and Great Egret in mid-winter... that we shouldn't have.
Then, later, the weather turned for the better, so..... all intended up the spout.... I took a stroll round the meadow to see if there were any major patches of Creeping Thistle [Cirsium arvense]chardon des champs that I'd missed the previous day. I have no intention of trying to eradicate the Creeping Thistle.... it is too important a food plant for the wildlife around here.... I just want to control it enough to stop huge clouds of seed blowing over the neigbouring fields!!
The sun came out and brought with it a host of insects that had been sheltering in the nooks and crannies of tree bark, or under leaves.... dashed back in for the camera.... and managed to grab a few shots before it clouded over again.
One of the first in the frame was this Map butterfly [Araschinia levana] la Carte géographique which obliged by posing with its wings open.... I've got enough shots of the underwing to publish my own atlas.
 |
| The 'Summer' wings |
 |
| And the underwing! |
These are the summer brood.... spring [overwintered] specimens are so different on the upper wing as to appear a different species.
Susan of "Days on the Claise" blogged about them here and there seem to be an awful lot more around here than last year.
Also around were Red Admiral, Peacock, Marbled White, Silver-Washed Fritillary, Meadow Brown and a White Admiral.
However, around in even greater numbers were the Damselflies. Plenty of male Banded Demoiselles and some brilliant emerald green females...
 |
| The strange 'nostril' is the wing of a rapidly vanishing fly! |
One damsel that caught my eye was this male Blue Featherleg [Platycnemis penepipes] l'Agrion à larges pattes which was posing nicely at the edge of one of the new "Paths"#, but there were also Bluets and Bluetails around, males definitely, females probably, but I need to go out deliberately to photograph as many as possible and then sit down in fron of this screen with the "bible" - Dijkstra & Lewington, to identify what we do have. I wonder how long before I acheive that?
 |
| The 'feathering' on the hind leg is very clear in this picture. |
Also around were Gomphidae, possibly a Western Clubtail as Susan has seen them here, but when it got close enough to see more clearly, the tail seemed to be very markedly "clubbed" and it could have been a Pincertail [Also seen here by Susan and mentioned in the "Days on the Claise" entry.]
So, no mowing.... but a provisional Bird List under the belt... after about six years of deliberating!!
*The Alsace beer... not the cheese!
# One advantage of cutting through beds of chest-high nettle is that it falls cleanly, leaving a high, sharp-cut edge that all sorts of insects like to perch upon!!
Friday, 3 August 2012
Proud parents
For the second time this year Pinknose the moorhen and her compagne have made it through a successful hatching and are now leading a little convoy of tiny bald black scribbles up and down the millstream.
With the first brood we saw four chicks. Two were slightly larger than the others, and it was most unlikely that all four would survive, due to a combination of predators such as pike, inclement weather and their own general gormlessness. The millstream flows quite fast under the bridge next door to the nest, but given a normal rate of flow even the smallest chick seems capable of paddling itself back upstream. In the end we only seemed to see two fully mature juveniles around.
Moorhens are very attentive parents, and they share all child care duties. When the chicks are away from the nest, there is always at least one parent with them, while the other forages for tasty snacks. The parent-in-charge makes a regular beep-beep which reminds me of the rather unimpressive horn on the tricycle I had at the age of five. It is quite a soothing call and seems to make the chicks follow the parent and not go wandering off. Whereas the growling noise from Pinknose on her nest when Tim went too close with the camera warned the chicks to dive under her feathers and hide from the perceived threat. She made the same noise when Baron the tom cat went to sit on the parapet. He doesn't much mind getting wet when it comes to rain, but he hasn't tried swimming - yet.
Dad built a 'patio' to make room for the growing chicks, but that was the cue for the rains to start and we don't think they ever got the barbecue lit! As a result of the much greater growth of vegetation, we are not sure whether or not the old nest was used for the second clutch, or if it was the patio that seemed more suited. We only saw the little balls of fluff today and haven't yet managed to count them.
All these photos are from the first brood.
 |
| On the nest. |
 |
| Peep? |
 |
| Peep-peep!! |
With the first brood we saw four chicks. Two were slightly larger than the others, and it was most unlikely that all four would survive, due to a combination of predators such as pike, inclement weather and their own general gormlessness. The millstream flows quite fast under the bridge next door to the nest, but given a normal rate of flow even the smallest chick seems capable of paddling itself back upstream. In the end we only seemed to see two fully mature juveniles around.
Moorhens are very attentive parents, and they share all child care duties. When the chicks are away from the nest, there is always at least one parent with them, while the other forages for tasty snacks. The parent-in-charge makes a regular beep-beep which reminds me of the rather unimpressive horn on the tricycle I had at the age of five. It is quite a soothing call and seems to make the chicks follow the parent and not go wandering off. Whereas the growling noise from Pinknose on her nest when Tim went too close with the camera warned the chicks to dive under her feathers and hide from the perceived threat. She made the same noise when Baron the tom cat went to sit on the parapet. He doesn't much mind getting wet when it comes to rain, but he hasn't tried swimming - yet.
 |
| Declaration de Travaux:- Patio and Apero area |
Dad built a 'patio' to make room for the growing chicks, but that was the cue for the rains to start and we don't think they ever got the barbecue lit! As a result of the much greater growth of vegetation, we are not sure whether or not the old nest was used for the second clutch, or if it was the patio that seemed more suited. We only saw the little balls of fluff today and haven't yet managed to count them.
 |
| Dad! Can we have a barbecue, Dad? Can we? Can we? Shurrup! I've told you... it's raining! Again!! |
Friday, 18 May 2012
Water chickens - their struggle
Our resident pair of moorhens [gallinula chloropus] gallinules poules d'eau , Pinknose and her mate, have been industriously nest-building for their second year. Last year they raised two offspring, and in winter all four regularly visited the base of our cherry tree to clear up under the feeders. We blogged about them here in December last year.
The youngsters have now been driven off, in the same way that Pinknose was driven away by her parents from their territory further up the millstream two years ago. In the millstream immediately outside our kitchen window is a patch of yellow Flag Iris [iris pseudacorus] l'iris faux-acore. The patch has been expanding slowly over the years. In winter it is nothing but a patch of blackened stumps, then at the end of February shoots began to appear. Now the green spears are tall enough to provide cover for a moorhen nest, which is built from twigs and scraps of vegetation.
According to the books (and as we observed) the male does most of the fetching and carrying, passing pieces to the female who does most of the building.
He is readily distinguished from her by the white tail coverts (the feathers under and to either side of the black tail) which are fanned out for display, both aggressively and in courtship. In the case of the male, the tail coverts are permanently spread partially, in preparation to confront any of the other moorhens along our stretch. There is a visible white strip of at least a centimetre on either side of his tail, whereas the female shows only a white line or nothing at all. His bright red frontal plate is also broader, squarer and lumpier than his mate's.
They communicate in gentle chucks and clucks late into the night. One morning he brought in a particularly large piece of vegetation. She clucked at him and swam away. "OK, you brought it, you fit it"!
On the morning of 29th April a single brown-splashed white egg, almost round, appeared in the nest. They both brooded it intermittently, the male being somewhat clumsy with it and nearly kicking it into the water. They continued to visit the feeder area together. Until...
During the afternoon and evening of 29th April, 2.1 centimetres (almost an inch) of rain fell. By the morning of 1st May, the stream had risen by over a foot and the nest was awash. The egg was gone.
The couple stoically built higher. The following day, the water level had fallen again, the nest platform was well clear of the water, and there was another egg! A couple of days later there were two eggs, the parents still brooding intermittently.
The last time we got the opportunity to see the eggs, there were four of them. Both Pinknose and her mate are now brooding solidly, meanwhile keeping a wary red-rimmed eye on us as we look down from the bedroom. They have bent over the iris leaves around the nest and interlaced them, creating a neat bower which keeps a little of the rain off. The water level remains high, though when it drops the birds have a bit of a scramble to reach their nest platform. The iris started to flower today, immediately above the nest. Let's hope it brings them luck!
The youngsters have now been driven off, in the same way that Pinknose was driven away by her parents from their territory further up the millstream two years ago. In the millstream immediately outside our kitchen window is a patch of yellow Flag Iris [iris pseudacorus] l'iris faux-acore. The patch has been expanding slowly over the years. In winter it is nothing but a patch of blackened stumps, then at the end of February shoots began to appear. Now the green spears are tall enough to provide cover for a moorhen nest, which is built from twigs and scraps of vegetation.
According to the books (and as we observed) the male does most of the fetching and carrying, passing pieces to the female who does most of the building.
 |
| Male with a branch |
 |
| Male on left: Female on right. |
They communicate in gentle chucks and clucks late into the night. One morning he brought in a particularly large piece of vegetation. She clucked at him and swam away. "OK, you brought it, you fit it"!
On the morning of 29th April a single brown-splashed white egg, almost round, appeared in the nest. They both brooded it intermittently, the male being somewhat clumsy with it and nearly kicking it into the water. They continued to visit the feeder area together. Until...
During the afternoon and evening of 29th April, 2.1 centimetres (almost an inch) of rain fell. By the morning of 1st May, the stream had risen by over a foot and the nest was awash. The egg was gone.
 |
| The waterlogged nest site. |
The couple stoically built higher. The following day, the water level had fallen again, the nest platform was well clear of the water, and there was another egg! A couple of days later there were two eggs, the parents still brooding intermittently.
The last time we got the opportunity to see the eggs, there were four of them. Both Pinknose and her mate are now brooding solidly, meanwhile keeping a wary red-rimmed eye on us as we look down from the bedroom. They have bent over the iris leaves around the nest and interlaced them, creating a neat bower which keeps a little of the rain off. The water level remains high, though when it drops the birds have a bit of a scramble to reach their nest platform. The iris started to flower today, immediately above the nest. Let's hope it brings them luck!
 | |
| The 'second' egg |
 |
| Pinknose in the bower.... |
 |
| And Mr. Pinknose taking his turn. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
