At the Marina

[Julie]

We have new arrivals of tufted ducks, at present there are two males and one female., also we have what appears to be a resident cormorant who loves to dive for his dinner, then he opens his beautiful wings so full in the sun so he can dry off.

The other family with a little one is the oyster catcher, the little one is almost as big as his mum and dad!

internet images

In the Gaelic language their cry “bi glic, hi glic, bi glic, hi glic” means “be wise, be prudent” and in the past, fishermen and mariners on the west coast of Scotland regarded this cry as the warning of an approaching storm."

Oystercatcher ~ Eileen Donan Castle

[Julie]

5th August 2024

[Julie]

Watching the swan family growing up is a privilege and a beautiful experience....the last of the swan and duck food has been given out...there are still 6 swan children

[Julie]

The cormorant arrived in the afternoon of our second day, I was wondering if he still visited.  

The Oystercatcher family are still on the island opposite the boat...the only difference now is that the youngster has a slightly shorter beak than his parents.

The mallard that had made her nest on the boat next door has hatched her eggs, there were seven in total in the nest.  All that remains in the herb basket where she nested is a few broken pieces of egg shell and some duck down that she plucked from her chest to keep the eggs warm and camouflage them from predators.  I caught a glimpse of a mother mallard and two small duckling settling down on the island for the night about 9.30pm.  I think she may be keeping a low profile until the ducklings are bigger as I didn't see her on my walks around the marina this week.

The swan babies are still numbering 6 and are so beautiful, they have very protective parents and are successful each year in bringing young ones into the world.