Yesterday I had a second visit to the River Kelvin in Glasgow’s West End to try and see the goosander chicks which I’d heard were there. At first the river seemed completely devoid of wildlife. I walked downstream and then retraced my steps. Then out of the lush green foliage on the opposite bank popped a female goosander and four chicks, all on a fishing expedition.
Disappointingly, these chicks were too big to be riding on their Mum’s back, but as you can see in the photos below they were already catching some big fish!
Yum, a tasty fish about to be swallowed…
This chick was having a poke about on the river bank.
When I arrived back at the bridge where I’d started my walk another younger goosander family appeared swimming downstream. Now this was the sight I’d been hoping to see! I’ve only seen a train of babies tagging along like this a couple of times before, two years ago.
The front chicks are so comical and cute as they clamber onto their parent’s back to hitch a ride.
At one point the Mum got up for a bit of a stretch and the wee ones fell off back into the water.
There were ten chicks in this wee family. One was straggling behind the others.
As soon as Mum resumed swimming her brood jostled for a ride and the ones at the back had to paddle furiously to keep up.
I followed them downstream, having to walk fast to keep up with them. They were headed for a steep weir and I thought surely the Mum isn’t going to take them down it.
But down the rapids she went followed by one bold wee chick!
The rest of the chicks massed at the top and looked reluctant to follow. But after a minute’s hesitation down they tumbled too! Too fast for me to capture on camera alas.
Once past the weir it was all a bit much excitement for the wee straggler. It stopped on this rock for a rest.
I fear for its safety. Many of these chicks will get picked off by gulls or this heron. Thankfully I didn’t have to witness this yesterday. Maybe this heron was already full as the goosander family skittered past.
Here’s a final image, one for next year’s wildlife calendar methinks …
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 