Reflections

I've been a bit tardy with the blog recently but hope to be able to keep it up better from now on.

Yesterday along the canal was all about reflections!



Canada Goose

It was a beautiful evening when I walked down to the canal and the light was magical.  Coming down the brae (hill for the unScots!) I spotted the swan going past the bramble field.

Mute Swan

This photo was taken at a distance and I wanted to see if it was the old male that usually nests here.  By the time I got down to the canal it had disappeared from sight which was when I discovered a mute swan can paddle quicker than I can walk. 
Undaunted I headed out after him.  An American couple coming toward me assured me he was still there, just ahead.  Heaving and panting (well maybe that is a tad dramatic) I finally caught up with him way beyond my usual self-imposed boundary of Lingcroft Wharf.  But I am glad he was beyond that, because on the way I finally spotted the Little White Duck who has been absent from her usual haunts for several weeks.
Anyway, He finally noticed a woman with a plastic bag and stopped and came back to be fed.  Honestly, he stopped at the edge of the canal looking up at me and sort of wiggled back and forward, for all the world like a dog wagging his tail in anticipation.  Sure enough it was old Grumps but there is no sign of the female.

Back to the Little White Duck.  Once the canal thawed out she and her companions disappeared but not before I noticed they had stopped coming into the bank to get fed.  They seemed very wary which was strange given they had been used to being fed from chicks.  I suspect they have been pelted with stones or such by young pillocks.  It might explain why they have moved so far from their original territory and why they still won't come close to feed.  However, she looks well and was in the company of two males and a female.  I can't tell if they were the ones from the same brood and I don't know if mallards mate in their first year.  Note to self: Find Out!

The Little White Duck

Coming back along the path I noticed, there are a lot more Canada geese scattered in pockets along the canal this year.  Last year we only had 6, now there were several groups interspersed along the canal.  I also noted that several of our Greenhill geese have moved away from the Greenhill completely.  It was very unusual to see them outside their green field but that doesn't seem to be the case now.  Several seem fascinated by the captive ducks, geese and hens in the allotments and can be seen looking in from outside.  I wonder if the incident with the car ramming them had any impact on the flock?  Could it possibly be that they no longer feel as safe where they were?  No way to tell.
Sadly the one toulous goose hit by the car has died.  That brings our winter death toll up to five which I don't suppose is bad in the scheme of things - everything has an end.

This was the last shot that captured my eye.  Such wonderful reflections at the end of the day.