Just a swift update.
When I went to the shops this morning, the swan was missing from the river! I was panic-stricken. Had someone taken it home for a feast? Had it just flown or swum away insearch of other swans?
Sadly, the ducklings had already been reduced to 3.
Sorry to disappoint those who think our female ducks are not in evidence because they are sitting on eggs. There have only been two all winter long, and the new mum is one. The other will probably be back with her brood soon. But last year's babies nearly all moulted into male plumage. Don't forget that I walk past the stretch of river several times a week, so I've been noticing the lack of females for some time. Hence the idea that humans may well be interfering in some way with our pollution of just about anything you care to mention - water, air, can't get more basic than that. What does surprise me, however, is that female hormones peed out by women on the pill are supposed to be present in abundance in our water systems, so why aren't all the ducks female instead of male?
On the way home, the swan was back, so I heaved a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, with the cloud of volcanic ash still clipping everyone's wings, National Geographic has shown the episode of Air Crash Investigation that dealt with the plane that in 1982 flew through just such a cloud - invisible on the weather radar which is programmed to pick up moisture, not dry ash. One by one the four engines failed, after flying through what looked like St Elmo's Fire. Only after they had descended dangerously close to the mountains they would have to cross to get to the airport did the engines start back up, only to start shutting down again as they rose to fly over the mountains.
The windscreen of the plane was severely scoured, so that they could not see out of it, and the paintwork of the plane looked as if it had been sandblasted. When the engines were taken apart, they were full of volcanic debris. Thanks to the calmness and skills of the flight crew, everyone went home safely.
When I went to the shops this morning, the swan was missing from the river! I was panic-stricken. Had someone taken it home for a feast? Had it just flown or swum away insearch of other swans?
Sadly, the ducklings had already been reduced to 3.
Sorry to disappoint those who think our female ducks are not in evidence because they are sitting on eggs. There have only been two all winter long, and the new mum is one. The other will probably be back with her brood soon. But last year's babies nearly all moulted into male plumage. Don't forget that I walk past the stretch of river several times a week, so I've been noticing the lack of females for some time. Hence the idea that humans may well be interfering in some way with our pollution of just about anything you care to mention - water, air, can't get more basic than that. What does surprise me, however, is that female hormones peed out by women on the pill are supposed to be present in abundance in our water systems, so why aren't all the ducks female instead of male?
On the way home, the swan was back, so I heaved a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, with the cloud of volcanic ash still clipping everyone's wings, National Geographic has shown the episode of Air Crash Investigation that dealt with the plane that in 1982 flew through just such a cloud - invisible on the weather radar which is programmed to pick up moisture, not dry ash. One by one the four engines failed, after flying through what looked like St Elmo's Fire. Only after they had descended dangerously close to the mountains they would have to cross to get to the airport did the engines start back up, only to start shutting down again as they rose to fly over the mountains.
The windscreen of the plane was severely scoured, so that they could not see out of it, and the paintwork of the plane looked as if it had been sandblasted. When the engines were taken apart, they were full of volcanic debris. Thanks to the calmness and skills of the flight crew, everyone went home safely.
Obviously this is just a mock-up of how the plane would have looked to an observer.
It was the best picture I could find on Google.
