There are still seven little black moorhen chicks on the pond, learning to swim and feed themselves, while being closely guarded by the two adults.
Month: June 2023
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Day 21
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Category: Barn OwlsHunting is not going well for the barn owls, with the father seldom seen and the mother often returning without food. There are just two owlets now and we have started to supplement their food to keep them going. Not an easy decision: should we leave these wild animals alone?
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Surprise arrivals
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Category: AnimalsWe knew there was a moorhen in the pond, but we didn’t realise there were two and they were nesting! Here’s the result: six chicks, probably only a day old.
The mother spends time feeding the chicks until they can fend for themselves.
Moorhens have very big feet for their size, from the day they hatch!
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Growing up fast
The greylag gosling is now two weeks old and growing fast. The adult male has disappeared, leaving the female to bring up the gooselet (no, this isn’t a real word) on her own, but she seems to be doing a good job.
Update 12 June. Three weeks old and doing well!
Update 16 June. Unfortunately it looks as though we’ve lost the greylag gosling. We last saw it a week ago and briefly saw the mother fly off a couple of days ago (she never leaves the gosling on its own). Such is nature, though whether it was a predator like a fox we’ll never know.