Blackcaps

Early last week I saw what I took to be a marsh tit or a willow tit as I was walking through the woods between Farnborough North and Frimley.  It was about the size of a great tit but had a light grey body and the top half of its head was black.  I assumed it was a tit because it was fairly dumpy and rounded.  It didn't occur to me that it might be a blackcap because I thought they, being warblers, were slimmer.  However, on Friday I was walking past the same spot when I saw two birds in a bush, one with a black cap and one with a brown cap.  They were obviously a pair of blackcaps, even though they were rather dumpy, the one with the brown cap being the female.

I have seen male blackcaps singing along that stretch of path before, a year or two ago.  Zoe has also seen male and female ones in her great aunt's garden in Egham.

Young Birds on Reading University Lakes

The young Egyptian goose has now got its adult plumage.  A week ago it was still looking rather scruffy with patches of brown adult feathers sprouting out of the grey fluffy down.  Now it looks very smart.

A coot nesting on the large lake had 6 tiny chicks yesterday afternoon.  They seemed to overflow the nest and whenever one of their parents came back to the nest one or two of them would swim out to meet them.  These more adventurous ones will surely get more food than the timid ones that stay at home, but they are also more likely to fall prey to the pike that lurk under the surface.  Adult coots are normally fairly territorial but Zoe and I were surprised to see one of the parents attacking a swan that drifted too close the nest.  The swan seemed to take heed of the warning and moved off, however, a bit later we saw the same swan chasing off some Canada geese for no apparent reason.

Coots and Swans on the Kennet

The coot nesting under the bridge at Gunter's Brook has one quite large chick; the one nearer to King's Point had two smaller chicks but now seems to have only one.  The swan nesting near HomeBase has two small fluffy grey cygnets.

A Dead Goldcrest

As I was walking along Frimley Road on my way to work I noticed a small greenish lump, no bigger than 2 inches long, lying on the path.  I had walked past it before I realised what it was - a tiny bird.  I stopped, picked it up and immediately recognised it as a goldcrest.  Turning it over showed the characteristic yellow stripe along the top of its head.  It was dead, having probably been hit by a car on that busy stretch of road.  There were no visible injuries to it, but it left some small darkish brown spots, probably dried blood, on my hands.  The feathers on its body were incredibly soft, the slightest breath of air being enough to ruffle them.  I put it down gently under the hedge, so it wouldn't get trodden on.

Coot Chicks at Last!

I was correct last night about the coot's nest at the mouth of Gunter's Brook.  This afternoon there was fuzzy red head looking out from under its mother's wing.  Young coots are pretty ugly as chicks go.  Young swans are cute in comparison, in spite of the 'ugly duckling' of the story.

On the opposite, north side of the Kennet, further up towards the Watlington Street Bridge (by King's Point) there was another coots nest, this time with two little red heads showing.