I've been struggling to get some creative blog writing time in recently but with it being a rainy Spring day I have finally got time to get going again. I'll begin with this which happened a few weeks ago when I returned home from an afternoon walk to the old Oak which is a new spot I've recently found. I ended up looking out of the window to see 2 young women feeding a male and female mallard at first they fed the birds and I thought that was innocent enough and went on with cooking dinner. About 10 minutes later and the women had started leading the ducks out of the cemetery gate and to the nearby main road with it making the ducks nervous they stopped following the food trail so one of the women started lunging and scaring the ducks. I thought enough was enough so I shouted at them to leave the ducks alone the young women quickly ran away and I thought to keep the ducks safe it would be best to bring them in the garden so they could be safe away from the road. I got some bird seed and they followed me into the garden as we have a pond they settled in and got quite cozy.
They stayed for a few hours and left at last light, I thought that was the last we would see of them but over the last 2 weeks, they have returned each day. At first, they would arrive at the gate and quack until we let them in but now they circle each day and land in the garden to feed and bathe in the area we made for them including some straw as I thought the female may want to nest in the garden.
On the 23rd April, the male returned alone to see if his female had returned but she did not so I'm guessing she may be nesting somewhere nearby probably by the river as I noticed sand in there clear feeding pond we set up so they would have some deeper water to wash in. All I hear now a few times a day is Drake quacking to the sky in the hope his lady Daffodil would return so now he keeps coming back to feed in the water seed tray then he heads off to where he came from. A common bird but a wonderful addition to the garden even if they defecated everywhere the enjoyment was to see them sitting in the sun in the Nature area we have created in the garden.
I'm glad they stayed for a while as I've been out and about photographing spring wildlife I've bumped into 2 individuals in camouflage going up and down the canals targeting birds(Doves/Pigeons) nests in the tops of trees with catapults. I think in order to knock the babies out of the nests for some reason whether for sadistic killing satisfaction or to feed themselves or a pet they have is still unknown. I have more investigating and evidence to gather as and when I see them. I have seen them a few times on weekend evenings and one evening I followed a line of feathers where they was blood and a clear trail to a dead baby pigeon by the Big lock a local canal pub in the direction they went. I was informed by one of my local informants who keep an eye for the same suspicious things I do which is rather handy as I have quite a few people keeping an eye out for wildlife crime locally and on the North Wales coast.
I'll update on this soon once more information is gained. There are more people like this locally that I have also caught out and they are ongoing cases which are slow going but once they make that one mistake hoepfully I'll be there to capture it as this will be the year where wildlife survilence cameras will come in handy to show local people what goes on in there local countryside and the local people that commit these scummy activities from illegal Hare killing with Dogs to Badger baiting, it happens in my local town of Middlewich and if I can disturb and disrupt the senseless killing of our wildlife and the stunning countryside we have then I feel like I have done my part.
Regards
Mike
