While I was “over the pond” in the US I was aware that I’d be missing the chicks on our own nearby ponds and lochs. So I’ve been out looking to check for chicks, especially looking for cygnets and baby crested grebes. As I suspected, the ones I found were already many weeks old. The heads of baby grebes still resembled humbugs however. They were still looking to their adults for food, although able to dive under for fish themselves.
I did see one younger grebe chick still tucked into its Mum’s feathers, hitching a ride.
It’s just such a joy to see this!
The coot chicks have lost their red tufted heads and are now almost all grey.
As for cygnets, I went back to the nest site at the canal but it was empty, and despite looking up and down the canal on several occasions I could see no newborn cygnets. I’m hoping they haven’t been predated.
So I went to the canal about ten miles away at Auchinstarry and there on the bank were eight snoozing “ugly ducklings”.
There are loads of feathers on the grass from when the swans preen themselves.
We went a walk and later on we saw the family cruising around the marina.
Today I’ve been at Antermony Loch. Here I saw two swan families each with four large cygnets.
The other week at Hogganfield Loch I saw a swan and great crested grebe still perched on their nests. Maybe there’s still time to catch sight of some wee cute chicks …
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 