Nesting Time

I have not had time to post as often as I would have liked to but maybe, one of the positives of spending such a lot of time indoors will be that I get back in the habit of posting more frequently.

There will no doubt be far less people in the parks and commons so I expect to get fewer calls about injured and sick birds.  However, with the absence of dog walkers and anglers the birds will be safer and I hope that overall, the lock down will be positive for the swans, geese and, of course, all the other wildlife.

It feels difficult to stay positive in these unprecedented times but here’s a good news story that I would like to share.

At this time of year swans are already on their nests, busy laying eggs. The more mature and usually dominant swans have already bagged the prime locations and any intruder pairs are seen off rapidly.   The less mature swans and often, first time breeders make do with the sites that would not be their first choice.  Sometimes, this can be in a location where their nest floods and all their eggs are washed away.   Although sad, this is a way for swans to learn where is, and where isn’t suitable to nest.

Earlier this month I received an email forwarded to me from the Swan Sanctuary.  A local resident was concerned about a swan’s nest on a body of water that led off from one of the Central London docks.  My friend, who covers that area, had umpteen rescues outstanding so I went instead.  As I walked along it all looked a bit grim, due to the lack natural vegetation.  However, as I watched the coots busy building their nests, I noticed several little coot houses put together by local residents.  It may not be a pond on a lovely green common but these little urban coots were very proud of their homes.  I moved on to look for the swan’s nest and when I saw it my heart sank.  In some ways the location wasn’t too bad but it was right underneath a grid!  The slats were wide apart and it  would only take one idiot to poke things down at the swan, or even her cygnets once they arrived.  There was also the chance of cigarette ends dropping down or even broken glass.

I took several photos and sent them back to the Swan Sanctuary.  This lovely swan needed protection but there was nothing we could do without the co-operation of the council.  Fortunately, my friend Gill, who covers the area, had a good contact at the council – someone that had helped her with a nest problem last year.  She made contact with him and he must be one of the most proactive council workers we have encountered.  Within 48 hours he had arranged for the nest site to be cordoned off.  I cannot begin to say how pleased we were.  We now felt the swan had the best possible chance to incubate her eggs safely and we are hoping to see cygnets in May.

Thank you Tower Hamlets Council.

Coot busy building his nest

Residents lend a helping hand

Not the best nest site

Wide slats

Nest site

Thank You Tower Hamlets

A Rather Special Duck and her Family

In the spring of 2018 I got my first duckling rescue of the year.  The caller said one of the ducklings was very lame and struggling to keep up with its siblings.  Duckling rescues are never straightforward so on the way I picked up my friend and fellow rescuer, Nicci, to give me a helping hand.  The pond was hidden behind some houses, was tiny and on private land.  I felt a little more optimistic but suddenly I saw the poor duck being attacked by two amorous drakes.  The lady that had called me said their chasing was relentless.  Lesser ducks would have flown off and abandoned the ducklings but this beautiful duck stuck close to her babies.

Any chasing of the ducklings, to catch the injured one, could spook mum resulting in her   flying – and she also had to contend with her two admirers chasing her!  The plan was for Nicci to get in the  pond and target the duckling with the limp, separate it from the others, to enable me to net it.  As it happened, when Nicci entered the water the duck got out, quickly followed by her ducklings.  I was able to identify the one with a limp – in fact it was a fractured leg – and quickly netted it – the job was done!

We were hugely relieved that not only had we caught the injured duckling but that it had been done with minimum disruption.  I was not hopeful for the other ducklings as I thought the mum would eventually abandon them due to the two drakes.  However, the lady that called me continued to send updates and against all odds the entire brood of ducklings fledged.

In 2019 the duck returned, this time there was only one drake with her so he had obviously seen off his rival!  Again, all the ducklings survived.  The residents had made a duck house and did as much as possible to make it a good environment for the duck family.  It was wonderful to continue to receive updates and last week the duck returned.  Slightly earlier than in previous years so there was a rush to get the duck house ready for the class of 2020.  I look forward to receiving updates.

When everything about rescuing seems stressful and difficult and you feel like there are barriers whichever way you turn it’s these type of stories that make it all worthwhile.

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It’s been several months since I last posted – there were two main reasons for this. One was that I had been too busy to manage to put anything together that was worth reading but I also believed that any rescues I wrote about would start to sound repetitious.  Territorials, cygnets being chased, fishing problems, wanton cruelty – they all start to be very similar.  I have probably picked up 12 cygnets in 2020 that have been chased off by their parents and they are all so similar they blur into one.

So I got thinking abut what else I could do and I have been looking back on some rescues and the people I keep in touch with.   I will have a new post in the next few days but in the meantime here’s a few photos of some swan and cygnet rescues.

July Highlights

Earlier in July I received a call from a member of the public to say a cygnet at Canada Waters was caught up in fishing line and was frantically trying to free itself. I drove as quickly as was legal but when I arrived it soon became apparent that a boat was essential and needed as soon as possible. The cygnet was at risk of drowning.  All I could do was phone 999 for the Fire Services and they were amazing. It wasn’t quick as the first crews had to put calls out for 2 water rescue crews.  Besides the local crews they came from Lewisham and Bethnal Green and the longer it went on the bigger the crowd, that had gathered, became. Even in the boat, they had trouble catching the cygnet as there were rocks around where he was stuck and it meant that it was difficult to access as the boat kept becoming grounded. All came good in the end though and  I took the cygnet, who had a very sore and swollen leg, to the Swan Sanctuary.  London Fire Service are the best!
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/…/…/swan-rescue-surrey-quays/

Young juvenile geese featured prominently in this month’s rescues.  A couple with broken legs, one with a wing deformity and another with a deformed bill who would never be able to graze and would not get enough to eat in the wild.  Fortunately a permanent home was found for him where a ready supply of food will always be available.  There was also another juvenile goose with some sort of twine wrapped round his tongue and added to that a twig hanging that was longer than the bird.  Young birds do seem to get themselves into a lot of scrapes.

The duckling rescues are slowing down but there’s still plenty and I have recently been told of two ducks nesting in window boxes which will require rescuing!  Both are at least 3 floors up on balconies!

And finally,  while the hot, dry spell continues please leave bowls of water in as many places as you can.  All our birds and animals need clean, fresh water.  Thank you.

Other fire fighters watch the boat crew in action

Cautious of mum trying to protect her cygnet

Cygnet is finally caught and I breathe a huge sigh of relief

This young goose was easy enough to spot

Caught by Nicci in the boat

Receiving veterinary care

Juvenile goose born with bill deformity and unable to graze

Duckling Releases

Recently, I seem to start each post saying that I’ve had even more duckling rescues than the month before. They are still coming in but thank goodness they’re slowing down.  However, I want to write about the releases.

With other rescues, once the bird is caught the job is done but if you catch mum and her ducklings you are only halfway there.  The release can be stressful as there’s always the fear that mum could fly off and you can’t recover the ducklings.  I’m crossing everything when I say it hasn’t ever happened to me (yet) and I believe if you follow a few basics you are okay.  The main thing is to put the ducklings on water first. It’s instinct to think it’s better to put mum on the water first so that if she flies off the ducklings are still safe.  However, if you do it this way once the carrier is open she will fly out at great speed, but, if she’s held back and she sees her young go on the water, instinct takes over and she will want to catch up with them.  This has always worked for me but it doesn’t completely take the stress away.

Most of my duckling rescues are in Central London so I don’t know how the families fare as I release in parks that I’m unlikely to return to.  Recently though I did a duck and duckling rescue in Croydon and released them in nearby Waddon Ponds.  I know a few people that regularly use this park and so have been delighted to be able to get updates on the family.  They went from nine to three ducklings over the course of a couple of weeks.  However, this is actually pretty good.  It’s not unusual for ducks to lose all their ducklings, within a few days of hatching, so a duck that has had her young in an alien environment then is netted and removed with her ducklings has done pretty well to keep a third of them.

Also, a successful rescue and release will cut our workload.  If a duck loses all her ducklings or flies off during a rescue they will usually go on to lay more eggs in the same location.  And more importantly it’s a very sad outcome for a duck, that has been incubating her eggs for four weeks, to lose all her ducklings.

June Highlights

June has brought heap loads of rescues for young waterbirds – not surprising at this time of year.  Here is a snapshot of some of June’s rescues.  A big thank you to Adam, Nicci and Paula for all your help this month.

Hopefully duckling rescues are slowing down

An abandoned coot chick

Young chicks ready to move on to a permanent home

A family of geese descend upon Brockwell Lido

A difficult rescue to say the least !

Fishing line round this cygnet’s lower bill was cutting in so badly the bill was close to breaking off

Another cygnet this time what appears to be bites from a mink

Preparing for another trip into the Swan Sanctuary with some casualties

One of the most distressing sights I’ve seen in a long time. Young goose with a terrible head wound infested with maggots

Goose with maggot infestation healing up nicely

Dog attack. She had a young gosling that I had to rescue as well.She had lost her mate and all her other goslings a few weeks earlier

Dog attack but fortunately none the worse for it. Just a superficial injury

Another injured goose

Fishing hook in this poor coot’s leg made it very uncomfortable to walk

 

May Round Up

Abandoned gosling

Injured cygnet

Another injured cygnet – dog attack

Receiving treatment from vet at Swan Sanctuary

Ready to join the others

Gosling with leg injury

Swan looks relaxed but not allowed on water by resident cob who’s protecting his family

Straight release into nearby flock

Off he goes

May has been incredibly busy – mostly dominated by duck and duckling rescues.  The ones I get calls for are usually in Central London.  Sadly the ones I hear about are probably only a small fraction of the ducks that are nesting in balconies and courtyards.  Many must perish.  Ducks are losing more and more of their natural habitat and therefore nesting in inappropriate places that are a long way from water.  When I drive around London and look at the continuous building programmes, erecting more and more blocks of flats, I am drawn to the balconies and the rather lovely flower displays which to me are just possible nesting sites!

For the first time ever I have had similar rescues but for geese and their goslings.  I went to flats in Kidbrooke where a lot of elderly and disabled people were living.  The communal gardens, on two different levels, both occupied Canada Geese with their newly hatched goslings.  The new parents had put both the gardens out of bounds. Neither the gardener nor the maintenance man would step out there as the geese tried to ‘attack them’ – their words not mine!  So the grass becoming overgrown and there was goose poo everywhere.  The one good thing was that goslings can’t run as fast as ducks and there was a pond within the complex.  Unfortunately the goslings didn’t hatch at the same time so it involved two trips before the residents could reclaim their gardens.

There were a flurry of goslings and cygnets with leg injuries and a couple of territorials where pairs of swans had unwelcome visitors!  It is always sad to take injured cygnets and goslings, that are only a few weeks old, although without intervention they would die.  They will not be able to be released until they are fully independent which could be another five months. However, they will go onto a sanctuary lake much sooner and they will learn to search for food themselves by pulling up pond weeds and vegetation from the lakes. However, they will still get fed a good supplement of swan pellets and grain.

 

May the Force Be with You……..London Emergency Services at Their Best!

Sometimes rescues can be made more difficult by the people you encounter.  Their expectations are often way too high and they forget that you are an unpaid volunteer with another job to pay the bills!  However, the majority of people I encounter are lovely but I had the misfortune of two jobs on the same day with, shall I say, challenging people!

Thank goodness, the next two rescues were the exact opposite with the emergency services being as helpful and kind as you could wish for.

I had a call to go to Croydon where a juvenile swan had flown out of a small pond and crashed landed on a balcony.  On the phone it sounded relatively straightforward but when I arrived I realised that it was clearly going to be a more complicated rescue.  There was no way I could access the balcony.  I hadn’t been told that the residents were away and I did not feel confident about borrowing a ladder to climb up to the balcony.  I would have to come down with one hand holding the swan – and let’s not forget I would be trespassing.  I had no choice but to call the Fire Brigade.  I sat in my car and waited and within 5 minutes I heard the welcome sound of their sirens.  I explained the situation and after a brief discussion they appointed their newest recruit, aka ‘Sparrow’, to rescue the swan.  Sparrow was told by the other fire fighters that it was just like catching a very large duck and was then sent him up the ladder to retrieve the swan.  I couldn’t see what was going on but heard a lot of hissing and flapping, from the swan, and a few expletives from Sparrow.  Eventually,  he emerged with a swan tucked under his arm and carefully defended down the ladder.

The swan only had superficial injuries but I did not feel he was fit for release so he went to the Swan Sanctuary for some R&R.

Only a few days later I received a call from the Swan Sanctuary to see if I could go to a collapsed swan in Woolwich.  It was a Saturday evening and it would take me anything up to 90 minutes.  I immediately asked ‘Is there really no-one else that can go?’ only to be told there wasn’t.  The swan was lying in a car park but very close to the water’s edge so if she had a burst of energy and/or chased by a dog she might go into the water and swim away.

It’s really stressful driving to somewhere when you know it’s a long journey.  The woman with the swan had to leave as she had been with her for three hours waiting for the RSPCA, who she had originally called.  However, a police officer had arrived and he said he could stay until anything more urgent arose.  He spoke to me on the phone and said that if he had to leave he promised to get a PCSO to stay with the swan until I arrived.

It certainly took the pressure off driving there and I managed to stay within the speed limit!  When I rang to tell the PCSO I had hit heavy traffic he told me not to worry.  He said he would stay until I got there even though his shift was coming to an end.

Strangely enough about five minutes before I arrived the RSPCA turned up more than four hours after their original call.  This is not a criticism of the individual staff but I never really understand why the staffing levels are so low when they are one of the wealthiest charities in the UK.  I was glad that they decided to leave me to pick up the swan and take it to the Swan Sanctuary which is, after all, where the swan will get specialist treatment.

 

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I took the swan home and made her comfortable in my shed. She may have not moved but there was nothing wrong with her appetite – she wouldn’t stop eating.  I transferred her to the sanctuary the following morning.  There was no apparent reason for her inability to stand but she remains at the sanctuary making progress, albeit slowly.

So thank you Police and Fire Fighters for your kindness and compassion.

Some Swans Need a Helping Hand

At the start of May I got an email, via the Swan Sanctuary, from Richmond Council.  A local resident had posted on Instagram about a swan nest that was covered in litter – as was the surrounding water.  It was on the Thames, tucked away by the house boats.  I went to do a recce and was saddened by what I saw.  Good breeding sites are at a premium and the less dominant swans end up in places that leave a lot to be desired.

A depressing sight

Cleaning up

Rewarded by the pen showing her eggs

Next day the pen has rearranged her delivery of straw

The newly hatched cygnets

The following day, I returned with waders, black sacks, a bale of straw and a willing friend. She had a miserable little nest made from twigs and rubbish which is why I brought the straw. It was only me that got in the water as we didn’t want to stress the pen on her nest.  I carefully cleared all the bags around her and pulled out lots of rubbish from the river.  She seemed quite relaxed about me working so close to her.  I didn’t want her to come off the nest so I just broke up the straw and left some on either side of the nest.  We left feeling satisfied that we had done a good job with minimum disruption – in fact in not much more than an hour we had transformed the swans’ home.

The icing on the cake was when another volunteer went back the following day and saw that the swans had made full use of the straw and used it to improve their existing nest.  I later found out that they had attempted to make a nest in 2018 but it had no substance and the eggs were washed away.  This year has been a success and at the time of typing this there are six healthy cygnets.  They are in close proximity to an established, dominant pair of breeding swans so I am crossing my fingers that my new family keep a healthy distance from their swan neighbours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2019

Duckling Rescue – possible drop if ducklings fall

Two ducklings were caught in the car park with mum

The rest of the ducklings were well hidden in this window box

Hidden in the window box

Prior to release

The best bit! Releasing the family

Other injured birds

Poorly gull with botulism

Duck with fracture to wing

Baby heron

2018 cygnet being kept on land by cob

Released into Kingston Flock

The duckling season has started. Most of the waterbird babies are hatching slightly earlier this year.  Usually I would get one or two duck and duckling rescues in April but at the time of writing this I have done seven and there’s been lots of orphaned ducklings brought to me as well.  They’re never easy and it’s hardly worth having a plan as it just doesn’t seem to work out.  Next is a summary of a typical but tricky rescue – copied from my post on Facebook.

Today brought my first duckling rescue of 2019. Duck and duckling rescues can be notoriously difficult and I had been to this rescue location last year. The concierge, who looks after these rather nice flats in Belgravia, had kept my number from last year. Mum was running round the car park with two newly hatched ducklings. Fortunately, they were quite easy to catch but that wasn’t the end. The staff there said there were other ducklings on one of the balconies. They also thought they might be on the roof!  So we started on the roof and worked our way down eight floors, searching every window box on each landing. Success came at the sixth floor. We found the window box where mum had made her nest. The window boxes were crammed with plants and ivy and it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I found five ducklings and then there was silence so I hoped I had them all. I continued searching the window box very thoroughly and destroying plants in the process but nothing. I set off to my next rescue with the duck family on board. I was in Richmond when the concierge rang to say he had found another duckling in the window box. I phoned a friend who luckily was able to get the train (and a taxi) up to Sloane Square to collect it. She brought it to me in style in a taxi and after reuniting him with his mum and siblings we got another call to say there was another duckling running round the carpark. I had to collect my granddaughter from school so lovely Paula made a return trip to get the ninth duckling. It was so important to keep these single ducklings warm and she did brilliantly and was very inventive. I think she must have watched Blue Peter as a child!
I now have all of the ducklings and I will keep them a few days to feed up mum and help the little ones gain strength. An eventful but hugely satisfying rescue. Paula Redmond thank you for sharing photos.

It’s important to try and catch the mother and when I do it’s usually a straight release, into the nearest, safe pond.  Sometimes, if the ducklings are only a day old I keep the entire family in my shed and run, for another five days.  It creates a massive cleaning programme but I think it makes a big difference. Mum has built up a stronger bond with her babies and they have grown stronger while in care – with plenty of good, nutritious food.

When I am looking after a mum and ducklings it’s quite handy if I pick up a lone duckling, as if they are a similar size I can sneak them in with the family, without mum being aware she has an extra one or two!

Besides, duckling rescues the rest has been a mixture. One of the last of the 2018 cygnets got chased off – this was on the day that the new cygnets hatched.  I’ve also had an assortment of injured gulls, coots and ducks and a lovely baby heron that fell out of his nest.

It’s got off to a busy start and I expect it to continue in the same way in May.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.   I hope you found it of interest.