9th May 2010
Yesterday evening my husband and I were at Weir Wood reservoir watching the nesting herons, through our scope. We witnessed one of the chicks attacking one of his/her siblings, it looked like he/she was trying to eat it, and it was a very vicious attack, lasting for about 5 minutes. The chick that had been attacked just laid half in the nest and half out of it. We stayed in the hide for a further 30 minutes, and the attacked heron did not move, so we assumed that it was dead. The nest was on the left hand side, with 3 chicks in it. We would like to know if this is normal behaviour for young herons.
Sandra Anderson
In Birds of the Western Palearctic it says “Chicks grasp one another when hungry, and sometimes quarrel with erect necks and Bill-snapping. More intense fights usually confined to feeding sessions or just before or after. Start at 7th day and up to 15th consist mostly of harmless pecking exchanges. Can be more vicious later, sometimes resulting in bullying of smaller chicks and even their eviction; evidence of cannibalism by siblings or parents” (has been reported). Editor
2nd July 2010
On this date I photographed a mating pair of Meadow Brown butterflies (see web photo) on the north bank of Weir Wood Reservoir. The female (upper in photo) shows two white pupils in the black eye-spot on the forewing instead of the single pupil which is normal for this species. Hitherto I had assumed that a double pupil was a defining characteristic of the Gatekeeper, so I consulted the butterfly community and received the following information from Ken Willmott:
“A double-pupilled Meadow Brown is known as ab. bioculata Rebel, and according to the literature 'met with fairly frequently'.”
Derek Washington
Cormorant “Red UI”
The Cormorant bearing a red ring with white letters UI on its left leg, seen at Weir Wood on various dates (e.g. 1998, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010), was ringed as a nestling on 4th June 1997 in Flevoland, The Netherlands.
