Saturday 6 January 2018

Swan darvics and metal rings - Windsor and Truss's Island, Staines - 3rd January 2018

The weather has been less than kind this festive season with high winds and heavy rain on several days. Added to that, we've been ill with influenza and apart from a brief walk we've just not been able to get out.

As Storm Eleanor, the first storm of the year, breezed through we wrapped up and went to Windsor and Truss's looking for rings to record.


We recorded a few familiar darvics and also got some new metal rings. We also recorded a couple of numbers of the Canada Goose regulars but none of the Black-headed Gulls carried either plastic or metal rings.

T029 ringed by TW in Winchester. Whether it came of its own
accord or courtesy of oneof the Swan rescue charities is less clear.
We also wondered if that might also explain the presence of the
Black Swan.

Black Swan, Mute Swans and gull feeding frenzy.

The water level was high and some trees were the worse for wear after the
strong winds over night.

A large tree had been carried down river and had got stuck on the bridge.

Totals: 0 (35)

Mute Swan - 0 (33)
Canada Goose - 0 (2)

Moving on to Truss's there were a lot of gulls but still no marks to be read. As always there were plenty of Orange darvics printed with black. Among the birds were more cygnets than we've seen at any other visit this year.


Synchronised head dipping from one pair

Totals: 0 (34)

Mute Swan - 0 (34)