Swans Attacked

A few report this week of people witnessing the swans being attacked by yobs. There are very stiff penalties if they are caught so if you see anyone doing this ring the Police as they are a protected bird.

What do swans eat I am often asked

So what do swans eat? The following are the common foods that most swans eat:

• Aquatic Plants - since swans spend most of their time in bodies of water like ponds and lakes, they also source out their food from here. They usually feed on stems, roots, leaves, tubers and other parts of any aquatic plants. This is not a problem for swan raised on natural bodies of water; however, people that raise their swans in man-made ponds or lakes must ensure that aquatic plants are present to serve as the swan's food.

• Insects - swans also wander on land and they can eat whatever small insect that may come into their way. This includes snails, aquatic beetles and many more. This is the intriguing part about what do swans eat; at first people thought that swans are purely herbivorous but as time passes by, it was discovered that swans also feed on small insects.

• Small Aquatic Animals - this includes shrimps, small fishes and other small aquatic animals. These aquatic animals are eaten by fully mature swans living in a natural pond or lake.

• Grains and Vegetables - this is the usual food for domesticated swans, especially those that are raised on farms. Swans on captivity feed on corns and other grains as well as on left over vegetable scraps.

Grain, such as wheat, and vegetable matter, especially lettuce and potatoes, can be fed to swans. Food should be thrown into the water to avoid encouraging the birds onto the bank.

This week 7 staff came down to put a hay bail and pallets in the lake for the swans and grebes to nest on away from the banks were they are being attacked. Above the man wades out to fit the hay.

The swans tried it out the next day but now seem to have used it to get onto the island so lets hope they nest there safely. Hopefully they are returning in a few days with more hay for the Grebes

The two white ducks were back again this week so we dont know were one hides but it seems to come and go maybe it has a nest close by.

The week started off with contractors building steps by Morton Rd

They are now finished but people with prams and disabled are not happy as now they cant get up or down.

On Friday a 1,000 Scouts turned up for a big meeting.

Dog Menace Again

New signs have gone up in the Queens Park about keeping dogs on a lead. Even with the new signs there has been several incidents this week were dogs off the lead have attacked the baby ducks. The whole thing now hot up as new laws can  have the dogs destroyed  and owners can get 12 months in prison. So people should take note

Burma Island has had a new fence put up stopping people getting on the island any bets how long it last?

There has been a lot of rabbits about this week with lots of new babies in Coronation Walk and surrounding areas. This one sat nice and still to have his picture taken

The on going problem with the Grebes and Swans trying to nest continues as the grebe try on the main bank and they stand no chance there as yobs will soon destroy the eggs. We desperately need some sort of platforms in the lake for them so they can nest safely. We have been asking for months but this week there is a friends meeting so we will ask if they  can pay for some landing stages so come along to the meeting.
RESTORATION PROJECT
FRIENDS MEETING
Monday, 21st May, 2012   5.30pm
At  the GAMES PAVILION (adj Bowling Green), Queens Park, Crewe

Agenda
1.    Apologies
2.    Minutes of Last Meeting
3.    Matters Arising
4.    Chairs Project Up-date
5.    Key Events / Fund Raising
6.    Any Other Business
7.    Date of Next Meeting

With my finepix hs10 I got another panoramic view of the lake this week with the trees in leaf

More Baby Chicks

Its getting harder every week to find something to show from the park as no work is being done other than maintenance. So its all down to wildlife as that's all that's happening.
This week we have the Heron back on site for a few days he was getting chase doff the islands by Coats as they are nesting so he has been on the bank a lot this week.


Mixed fortunes on the duck front another duck has sneaked young in without anyone seeing. The ones above are very young and only 3 left The ones below are a bit bigger and there are 4 of them.


The Canadian geese have two lots one guarded by the white goose who seems to follow them everywhere and the ones above who have 9 babies out on the lake with mother and father


Some time ago we found out about the two white ducks from the person that brought them he said.
Hi, I am a regular visitor to the park and a real wildlife enthusiast. I by chance searched for wildlife sightings at the park to see If anyone logged the comings and goings and was very pleased to find your site. The reason I wish to contact you is to shed light on the two white ducks and let you know the story as I am the guy with the pet carrier who released them. I am a former manager of Stapeley water gardens and every yr we had numerous families of ducks, sadly as I'm sure your aware Stapeley closed and last yr a lot of ponds were filled in and one duck sat on eggs basically in a building site! Sadly many of the youngsters fell prey to the local cats and mum abandoned the two remaining youngsters on their very first day in the big wide world. I rescued the pair and one of my broody hens became stepmom. My plan was always to keep them as wild as possible and release them in a safe natural environment when I believed they would have a decent chance against predators! So this is exactly what I did and couldn't think of a better place than your park where they would have a helping hand with people regularly feeding the wildfowl their plus my regular visits. I hope this is ok in hindsight maybe I should have asked permission!? They are both standard mallards whose mum was the standard brown but they obviously have something from their father or mums ancestors in their genes. On seeing them on your website and noticing the insert about them bring brought in a cage I just wanted you to know the history behind them.
Now we only have one left we dodnt know if the other has left to get married or what has happened but its not been around for a couple of weeks. They used to be cheeky and visit the gardeners hut at dinner time for butties.

More Baby Chicks

 

Some nice flowers and trees coming out the both by the bridges a welcome colour to the park

Despite other wildlife loosing chicks the baby Moorhen has survived on the island away from yobs and it is helped by fierce parent that tackle anything coming near it not matter how big.

If you can see it on the picture above the treecreeper is small, very active, bird that lives in trees. It has a long, slender, downcurved bill. It is speckly brown above and mainly white below. It breeds in the UK and is resident here. Birds leave their breeding territories in autumn but most range no further than 20 km. Its population is mainly stable.

Where to see them

Best looked for on the trunks of trees in suitable woodland. In autumn and winter, it often joins flocks of tits and other small birds, so if you come across such a flock in a wood, it is worth listening out for a treecreeper among them. They are very small and hard to see and even harder to take pictures of

The Wood hatch has now got your as they only take 16 days here its returning to the nest with food for the young

The first baby Canadian geese can be seen here there are four so far lets hope they have more luck than the swans and Grebe .

We are still trying to get hay bails around the island so the Grebe and swans can nest in peace. The wildlife experts came last week and reported.

Countryside service ......In the short term you could consider putting in a couple of floating nest platforms, though these would need to be situ ideally within the next fortnight to stand any chance of being used this year. Unfortunately from a first trawl on the internet we’ve been unable to identify anything suitable ‘off the peg’. However you could instead consider contacting one of the local conservation groups who may be willing to make one for you. As a start try... (Contact made arrangements underway).
.... Short of making a very secure (human free!) area this is impossible to guard against, especially if the nests are so very accessible.... appropriate interpretive messages is the most cost effective measure, helping to engender public interest and help for their protection. (Signs arranged). It is the public’s eyes & ears that are your best weapon in combating such anti-social behaviours of this kind. (Further inspections made today by wildfowl specialists).

So at the present time nothing has been done and time is running out all for a few bails of hay or similar

OVERSEAS MUSCIANS TO VISIT QUEENS PARK
The May Bank Holiday is very nearly upon us and that means time for Crewe Brass to welcome our friends from Crewe's twin town of Bischofsheim in Germany!
HHS Bischofsheim, the town's brilliant accordion orchestra will be arriving for a programme of activity and music.
One highlight is a free Concert to be performed at Crewe's Queens Park on Sunday 6 May from 2pm, with Crewe Brass and HHS Bischofsheim performing both classics and favourites, on the stunning newly renovated bandstand a beautiful backdrop to this talented band of musicians. All are welcome. The band are hoping for lots of sunshine so that everyone can enjoy a picnic in the park before the performance.