2 swifts tonight near the large houses on Aldcliffe road. How much longer must we wait before they begin their spectacular evening displays?
And where have all the ducklings gone? We spotted a magpie trying to take one recently, but what else is the cause of such a high attrition rate?
I too, remember fine summer evenings watching swifts wheeling around the sky!
Two ducklings seen on one of the ponds during our volunteer work morning yesterday.
Mallards are not known for their parenting skills, males abandoning after mating, so it is no surprise that several young disappear. Ducklings are taken by birds of prey, foxes and pike in the canal. I have often seen ducklings on their own while their mother is off elsewhere doing her own think!