We were feeding the ducks at Greenside Bridge last week and saw a number of ducklings that were starting to grow up.
They were very agile. They were quite happy to dive down under the water three or four feet to collect seeds which had fallen to the bottom, as this short clip shows:
I’ve often seen adult mallards ‘dabbling’ (as the expression goes) for food on the bottom of the river. But this is the first time I’ve seen how ducklings accomplish the same feat.
It was a lovely bright and dry day for once yesterday so I took Ellie for a short walk in Eshiels Community Woodland.
The area around Eshiels is a fascinating one. It’s dominated by a large recycling/waste treatment centre. This is scythed in two by a disused railway line that has been converted into a multi-use path (we passed hikers, dog walkers, cyclists and equestrians). There are established and new woodlands, all bordered by fields and the ever present River Tweed.
It all makes for a rich and varied habitat for wildlife.
In particular, it seems to attract a large number of oystercatchers. On a past occasion I’ve seen around 100 by the river edge at dusk. This time we heard them “peep! peep!” as they flew overhead and caught many glimpses of them distantly in fields. Then at the end of the walk, I saw a group of fifteen or sound fly powerfully low down along the river and join another, similar-sized group to settle in a flooded part of the field. I love those birds.
I also saw two pied wagtails acrobatically jumping about in the recycling centre, presumably trying to catch flies.
Another highlight was seeing two long-tailed tits close up in trees by the footpath. I got a really good view of them and they really are exotic looking birds. Also bigger than I realised with very round tummies that seem to join onto their faces with no neck in between.
The oystercatchers, pied wagtails and long-tailed tits were all 2014 Year Ticks for me.
I saw this grey heron today, at the weir on the River Tweed in Peebles.
My Nature Diary 