Back from my holiday so it's been a couple of weeks since I last did the Kempston Mill walk, so what's new?
Well first up the Mill Mute Swans have a single cygnet, finally got the ring number of the female this morning (553) and history as follows courtesy of EN:
Ringed as f.g bird (2 yrs old?) Bedford Embankment 29 July 2004.
Re-sighted same 31 May 2008
EN also suggested that 1 cygnet suggests the male is of low fertility unless other cygnets were taken by a predator. As far as I am aware only 1 cygnet left the nest but let me know if you know any different.
Further up stream at Biddenham Loop the Mute Swans there are onto their 3rd nest so a while to go before we see any cygnets. Hopefully we won't have any flooding otherwise it might be 3rd time unlucky.
A Lesser Whitethroat was singing along the hedge by the road, even got a view of this elusive bird as it came out onto a dead branch. Amazingly a second one was headr and seen by the golf course at the back of the houses. Are these the same 2 heard on the 26th April? Very possibly having completed their first broods and about to start their second.
Crossing the golf course I noted 2 Coot families, one with 4 young and the other with at least 3. In the drainage pond, currently dry there were 2 male Manadarin ducks rooting about and 2 pairs of Lapwing with 4 youngters, 2 each. The Lapwings were maintaining a no fly zone around the area and a Stock Dove and several Crows were seen off. A cracking male Linnet also put in an appearance on the surrounding fence.
Little else of note this morning.
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