Disappearing chicks.

Most days when walking the dog the route takes us along a short branch of the old Lancaster canal that joins the Leeds Liverpool canal. No boats can use this section and so it is full of wildlife. Lots of water birds have paired up and are defending their nesting territory, despite their size two swans have been forced out by an aggressive pair of Canada geese.

Last week I noticed a pair of mallards had 12 chicks, two days ago that was reduced to 10; today I only counted 9 chicks. Unfortunately there are plenty of natural predators in the area but the chicks are getting larger and I will see how many survive in the coming weeks.