Coots, duckling and a baby deer

Our eight baby coots have become six. However they look as if they will survive. Their wingeing gets louder and louder and they are moving between the nest outside our boat to their second home on the weir and back again.Six baby coots plus the parents are too much for the nest. However the nest building continues.The day before yesterday the nest outside our boat became so top heavy that it has collapsed and overturned. Now they are building it again on its bottom.

A couple of weekends ago I was sitting on the veranday watching a mother duck with her one day old duckling when out of the sky a herring gull came and took the baby duckling. I was so shocked and for the next couple of hours there was the horrendous cry of a mother in distress.

Yesterday we saw a baby deer swim from under our willow to Ash Island

coots, herons and summer

When we came back from holiday the first thing we noticed was our lovely coot sitting on her nest with this beautiful but powerful heron sitting on the weeping willow watching. He sat there for over 3 hours before he eventually flew away.



Luckily we haven't seen him since. Every day last week for 8 days another chick hatched until the clever mother and father had 8 gorgeous baby coots. They took it in turns to sit on the nest and seemed to feed constantly for 24 hours.









Unfortunately yesterday the 8 became 7

cygnets, coots and ......

Unfortunately although the mother swan carried her cygnets on her back, under her wing etc and appeared to be a very good mum, she has gradually reduced her brood from 7 to 2. They constantly swim around often accompanied by the black swan.

We were very excited last week when at last the coots produced two lovely babes. Mum appeared to be very caring but I soon observed her going off to feed leaving them alone on the nest.







Unfortunately both babes have since disappeared






and she has laid another.

New Life on the Island

The ducklings minus their parents have taken over "Coot Island!" The sad thing however is that every time they come past - another one hits the dust.






The wonderful swans have given birth and wonderful parents that they are, carry them round on their backs and behind their feet when they get tired

nature is cruel

While still enjoying the sight of the new ducklings, goslings etc, we can't help be sorry that fewer and fewer ducklings appear as the mother ducks are not caring enough. Love the Egyptian geese and we have fooled the Canada goose with hard boiled eggs.



Our coots nest is empty and the coots appear to be nesting on Ash Island. However the other birdlife try to use the nest to no avail as she - ma coot continues to shoo the others off.


Walking through Bushey Park this morning we came across this fox and hope it stays away from the island.

We saw our first ducklings this afternoon. Mother duckling took her brood (12) around the boat. Father duck appeared and she jumped into the garden realised she had abandoned her brood and dived back in again

and the swan is sitting on 6 eggs at Back to the Moon

At last spring/summer is here . The grebes are in competition for the coots nest and the coots are continuing to mate.

Spring is happening for boats too

Look what we saw yesterday! What a colourful boat!

What excitement! We thought we'd seen an otter. I first saw it under the willow tree on land. Then it slithered into the water - the squawks of geese, coots and swans was loud and then it swam around the corner. Advice from neighbours made us think it was an American mink

sex on the river

today I wished I had a movie camera- for life was very exciting for the swans

and Bidou the black swan was swimming by

some recent photos

The mute swans are certainly displaying their plumage

Life on the river

By chance or is it fate that we now live in a house boat on the River Thames near Hampton Court. We only moved in in November and have experienced the coldest winter in memory. Despite that we are constantly surprised and excited by the life on the river. We have a coots nest and mama coot is busy nesting; we have seen the grebes come into colour, the mute swans, canada geese, mallards, tufted ducks etc beginning their courtship.


In our garden - the bluetits, gold finches, the greater spotted woodpecker, jays, magpies and of course the beautiful green parakeets. My husband calls them hooligans but they remind me of Australia. We have also seen the magnificent kingfisher and this week saw a mink.

Why have I started a blog? To produce a monthly record of life at Twin Beaks