Our lovely friendly duck was so proud of her twelve ducklings, swimming up and down showing them off, they were absolutely beautiful causing harm to no one. They were very happy.....
Until the Big Daddy came along !! This is the male swan which has been nesting with his female in our neigbours garden.
He decided he did not want any ducklings near their nest and over three days he has relentlessly pursued the poor duck and her ducklings up and down the canal, killing them one by one. The duck was a really good mother trying to protect them as best she could, we tried to help by squirting the swan with a hose pipe to keep him away from them, but obviously he just bided his time until we were not around. Last night was the final battle, there were two ducklings left and he decided he would kill them as well, he was pursuing them up and down the canal by our garden, we squirted him with the hose pipe and the mother duck stayed by us with her ducklings, but after a while she decided to swim off with them, and needless to say the swan went after them. It was a terrible battle, the mother duck protecting them as best she could getting an injury herself when the swan caught hold of her leg, she managed to escape onto the tow path, but the swan went after the ducklings and one by one held them under the water and then shook them until they were dead. What a dreadful thing to happen, there was nothing we could do except feel traumatised and helpless.
Later on the mother duck flew into our garden, limping and calling for her ducklings, a very sorry sight.
The swan was out today showing off his own beautiful family. I would like to know why did he do this, was it because by killing the ducklings he is protecting the food supply for his family, it certainly wasn't to eat them he left them floating in the canal.
Linda
What a wonderful world :))
Hi piekins
Thank you for your reply and a very belated welcome from me, I hope you will enjoy the forum as much as I do, I am quite new myself. By the way your other half is right about the swan protecting it's own, but I wish it would'nt.
flowerpot
It sounds like a really beautiful place where you live, and sounds like your dog really enjoys a morning swim, hope he/she has been able to do it this year, we had a chocolate labrador and she absolutely loved the water.
And your right about the swan staying where it gets food, lots of people come to the canal to feed the ducks and swans, it's really nice for the children to to this, but unfortunately it means the swan will stay here.
That's a lovely thought to think about all the wonderful life being born in tiny nests and hollows that we never see, I will remember that.
And your right about the swan poo, it makes and awful mess !
pipit
Sorry you saw a heron take a poor duckling, it can be really stressful by the canal sometimes can't it ! but at times it can be really nice as well, like last year when we saw a beautiful kingfisher, the first time I have ever seen one. And thank you so much for your lovely photo of the goldfinch, it really did cheer me up, it looks so happy and content just sitting in the sunshine.
lucybob
Wow that sounds like an idyllic place to have spent your childhood, and it seems your dad was protecting his young just the same as the swan !
The swan here does'nt hold a grudge either, even though we sprayed it with water it still comes back, think they must have short memories.
bramble 67
I missed your post with the pic's of a swan chasing the canada goose, I will have a look to see if I can find it. I hope the goose and all the other water birds have escaped from the swan, I think some are much more aggressive than others and I think we have a horrible one.
Thanks to everyone else for their posts as well, it's really nice to talk to others about these things. Hope it's ok to reply to everone all in one go like this, I'm not sure what to do if there are a lot of people to reply to.
Best Wishes
The arm breaking thing is an urban myth. Various researchers have tried long and hard to pin down a genuine record of it happening but it seems that it never has.
Canada Geese can be a bit feisty when it comes to defending their patch too. Up at Yat Rock we watched one actually board a canoe and have a good go at the occupant. We fell about laughing........
Every day a little more irate about bird of prey persecution, and I have a cat - Got a problem with that?
I remember reading (last year I think) that a swan had drowned a dog that swam too close to it's nest on a small park lake.
Hi all
So sorry to hear about the ducklings,I too did not know they were single brooded.
At a local pond the other day I went to see the wildfowl but could not see any.A female swan was closeby on her nest and her mate was patrolling the area and keeping the other birds away.
When it spotted me it came straight over and shadowed me closely while I walked the pond edge.Luckily there is a fence between the water and bank but it still aimed pecks at me.
Nature is cruel but the swan is only protecting its own.
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.