With it being This Girl Can month I thought I would have a little look out on the marsh this morning to see what the avian ladies were up to out there in the cold first light of a grey spring morning.
The boys were already up and about shouting and hollering about how wonderful they sounded with their wondrous musicality, uppy-downy display flights, upside down tumbling, frantic head bobbing, wing waving, and even bum lifting.
And as a rule the girls were not overly impressed either because they already had a boyfriend and did not fancy another (unless you are a Dunnock!) or that is was still too early to be up and about and paying attention to all that flouncing around by the lads.
Dabbling ducks have quite a rough time of it and are seriously outnumbered by the gaudy drakes and this disparity does lead to some very unseemly and inappropriate behaviour that in other circumstances would see the boys in court on some serious life changing charges.
Amorous Wigeon - Russ Sherriff
So the trick is, find a mate, 'fall in love' asap and then after consummation get as far away from him (and his mates) as possible and secrete yourself on a nice down lined nest of your own making in the grass at the edge of some water and get down to the serious business of laying eggs and incubating them. This is where her general browny drabness comes in handy as she can also keep out of the way of the marauding lads as well as sneaky predators.
Being a female Shelduck is also not that much fun as they are even more outnumbered than the dabblers – probably by about 15 to 1 at Rainham. Both sexes engage in energetic whistling display flights around the marsh and often end up landing on top of buildings such as the MDZ, WWI Lookout and Central Control Building. But the ladies have a couple of tricks in their arsenal... firstly they are about a third small than the males and much lighter and the ‘Chase me!’ flights are actually rather one sided as she can fly faster and stay out of the way until she chooses not to, leaving the males to bluster and posture to each other. Her small size also means that she can squeeze down a rabbit burrow, Alice style, to lay and incubate her eggs without being pestered.
Two loafing lads - Nick Croft
Miss Shelduck (on the right) does not look overly impressed that her boyfriend has brought her to an aphrodisiac Oyster Bar... -HTV
Meanwhile in the world of the Canada Goose things are a little more seemly with a proper pair bond forming and he will linger near the nest to ensure that his chosen partner is snug and safe. He will even stay around when the goslings hatch too. So different from those carefree ducks!
A nice warm nest for Mrs Goose - HTV
Lapwings are one of the star birds of the reserve and likewise form true pairs during the season. Both birds do incubate but the female takes the lion’s share of duties but relies heavily on the diligence of his partner and neighbours (who include the noisy Redshanks) to unsure that any predators are moved on as swiftly as possible.
Can you see her?
Sometimes the nests can be quite obvious! - Andrew Gouldstone
She will sit tight if possible but if extra wings are needed she too will fly away from the nest and up to join the fray. Whilst sitting she is fairly well camouflaged against the grass but Lapwings do not nest in cover and merely make a loose depression in the ground and hunker down. The urge to flee must be immense but instinct keeps here there for as long as possible so as not to give the eagle eyed Carrion Crows the chance to spy her more obvious eggs should she move away.
This time it is a Herring Gull that feels the wrath of a Lapwing... Bob Cooper
The proof of this dedication has come to fruition today with the first two broods of little fluffy Lapwings tottering around on Purfleet Scrape with mum close behind...
Run for cover under Mum! - Mark Vale.
Independent from birth! - Jo Collins
14-4-17