morning walk
Jan. 21st, 2023 06:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julian posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
birdfeedingI went out this morning and hung out down at the Turner Reservoir for awhile. It'd snowed slightly overnight and hadn't melted yet, so it was pretty and damp.
Lots of mourning doves and starlings looking glum (or, anyway, wet) in the trees in the adjoining ex-farm field. A couple blue jays sounding off to the west. And, of course, the sparrow colony near the reservoir.
I'm not absolutely sure when mute swan parents start kicking their kids out of the territory; I thought it was after they got their final white molt, but the two adults were motoring around the turf in full swan boat dominance display, and the five kids flew away at one point. Those two events may be unconnected, but if not, then it starts earlier than I expected. Which is interesting. If it's unconnected, well, I got some nice flying swan pictures.
Then I met some crows coming home (about halfway home, because I was looking to see if another lake nearby had a boat ramp), and only had about three peanuts on me. Which, is better than none.
Lots of mourning doves and starlings looking glum (or, anyway, wet) in the trees in the adjoining ex-farm field. A couple blue jays sounding off to the west. And, of course, the sparrow colony near the reservoir.
I'm not absolutely sure when mute swan parents start kicking their kids out of the territory; I thought it was after they got their final white molt, but the two adults were motoring around the turf in full swan boat dominance display, and the five kids flew away at one point. Those two events may be unconnected, but if not, then it starts earlier than I expected. Which is interesting. If it's unconnected, well, I got some nice flying swan pictures.
Then I met some crows coming home (about halfway home, because I was looking to see if another lake nearby had a boat ramp), and only had about three peanuts on me. Which, is better than none.
Thoughts
Date: 2023-01-22 06:02 am (UTC)Cygnets typically fledge around 2 months old, but may remain with the parents until the next breeding season. Mating is in early spring, so yes, January is way early for that. But well ... climate change has messed with a lot of timing.
https://nhpbs.org/wild/muteswan.asp
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2023-01-22 03:52 pm (UTC)But yes, climate change messing things up. F'rex, someone relatively local to me (same county) has been hearing a red-winged blackbird singing, as well as some other folks finding woodcocks doing early mating displays.