The last week has really felt warm with lots of sunshine and now the clocks have gone forward we will get the longer days. I know I'm probably speaking way too soon as there are forecasts for snow in the next week or so! But taking a positive perspective, I'm sure this will be just a little blip and the sun and blue skies will make a return soon.
The sunny weather has seen a change in the wildlife's behaviour, I've seen nest building, territory fighting and mating.
Let's look at what has been happening....
There has been a lot of nest building, the swans have been deciding where they are going lay, the geese and coots have been deciding on their locations too.. this one seemed a little ambitious with its choice of nesting material!
I also noticed quite a lot of frog spawn in the pools, I hope it survives the cold snap we are about to have. Here is a frog, (or is it a toad?!), returning to the water.
Marking a territory is important for wildlife, it allows them to mate without interruption or to raise its young in an area where there will be little competition for food. The wren is famous for showing its authority..
Dominance, showing your mate you are 'the' one and protecting your mate from others is also very important. I watched these pheasants fighting for a while on Friday, although I didn't see a female I'm told there is one they are fighting over. It looks a very violent battle but I can assure you it all ended with the two appearing to be fine.
All this behavior eventually leads to a little love
Some wildlife try to impress their mate by dancing. The great crested grebe is famous for their dance and I was lucky to witness this dance last week. It only lasted for a few seconds but it is an amazing act. Both grebes dived under water and came up with weed in their beaks. They fan out the feathery ruffs on their neck which looks like they are wearing a big collared shirt! They then make themselves as big and impressive as they can and they show each other their weed . This dance will occur more as the spring develops and eventually it will end with mating.
All this behaviour of course is about choosing the right mate and parenting off spring. But to get the off spring, the act of mating is required.. eyes shut...
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Date of walk - various dates w/c 14th & 21st March