Macaroni Penguins…Living Coast, Torquay, Devon…. Eudyptes chrysolophus

Macaroni Penguins…Living Coast, Torquay, Devon.

Macaroni penguins live from the subantarctic to the antarctic peninsula.
The face, back and flippers of this flightless bird are black…the belly white. The head has a bright yellow, wispy crest, red and pink beak and black eyes. The feet and legs of this penguin are soft pink.They eat krill, crustaceans and small fish.

These penguins are sociable and in the wild live in large colonies. The penguins here live together in a small stony area in Living Coasts, Torquay.
Although the space is in my opinion too small, the penguins seem to make the best of it and are breeding, so must be fairly content.

Seeing the Macaronis in their ‘ecstatic display’ as they flirt, make braying noises and wave their heads from side to side, is quite a sight.

Then;

Afterwards these penguins stood together looking quite content. Two eggs may be laid in the next few weeks. Chicks will follow shortly after.

There has been a decrease in populations in recent years and Macaroni Penguins
are classed as vulnerable.

English sailors apparently named the species for its yellow head crest….
People in the 18th century who wore bright, fancy clothing were labelled a “maccaroni” or “macaroni”. English sailors who first saw the penguins in the Falkland Islands thought they looked flamboyant with their bright yellow crest so named them Macaronis..

This weeks walk in Cockington WaterMeadows.

This weeks walk in Cockington WaterMeadows.

Today was one of those English summer days when the weather couldn’t make up its mind. One moment cloudy, gloomy and cool. The next bright, blue and hot.
Butterflies prefer warm, bright areas and only appeared when the sun peeped through the clouds, but it was worth the wait for the thick clouds to move on.

There were lots of Small and Large and Green-veined Whites flitting amongst the flowers. Orange Commas and brown Gatekeepers lay with open wings on the leaves. Common Blues and Holly Blues perched on the tips of plants spreading their delicate sky blue wings to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

There were one or two surprises this week in the meadows. A young Red Deer was pointed out to me and my son as we walked along the pathway. It was some distance away and almost hidden amongst the trees and bushes, but Patrick got a few shots.
The small deer seemed to have found a favoured bush, because it stood for some time picking at the fruits.

Further on we heard high pitched calls low in some branches near the stream. We waited until we saw a movement of leaves and there they were a delightful family of tiny Wrens. The three babies fluffed their feathers and called to their parents for a meal, sitting sometimes close together on branches, their little yellow beaks open in anticipation. One, having seen us watching, spread its feathers on the bark of a tree, perhaps to camouflage itself.

We also saw some large Dragonflies, but they were buzzing and not settling, so I’ll have to go back for photos. They did look impressive.
We did see a few Damselflies, but not so many.
Damselflies, Demoiselles, lay their eggs on plants below clear water. I fear that the dogs that splash through the streams muddying the water and dislodging any laid eggs will effect the Damselflies breeding. These beautiful insects are becoming rare or extinct in Europe and I fear for them.

My son couldn’t believe that there weren’t any fish in the the streams of the WaterMeadow. He searched for an hour, looking in every watery place and finally saw one. A slim fish, orange and brown in colour, merging into the muddy red stream bed.

Grasshoppers were in abundance – strange in appearance, almost alien and quite large. They could be seen and heard in the grasses along the banks

Our walk turned up lots of treats and my city dwelling son enjoyed it very much. Cockington WaterMeadows is one of the highlights of Torquay for nature lovers, and I do stress nature lovers.

Paignton Zoo, Devon.

Paignton Zoo, Devon.

I grew up in London and as a child was a regular visitor to London Zoo, but I became increasingly uncomfortable with the conditions animals lived in. Years ago large cats and apes were enclosed in tiny cages where they paced to and fro and brown bears and polar bears walked up and down small ledges in a distressed state.
London Zoo has improved considerably, but I still had my doubts about the benefits of zoos until I visited Paignton Zoo.

Spread over a wide area the zoo gives animals space and a more natural environment. The fact that many animals and birds breed there at this time of year shows that they are content. Here a photo of a Hooded Pitta with nesting material in its beak.

And a beautiful Java Sparrow…

The fairly new buildings showcasing the Tropics……the Desert…..and the Crocodile Swamp are especially pleasing.

The Zoo is an educational facility and there is an emphasis on this aspect of it; environmental concerns, deforestation, plastic pollution, conservation…. which is so necessary in this materialistic world.

I also like that there are few pristine lawns and flower beds and more natural, wildflower areas. Good for our native flowers and insects.

I still have a reservation…..having lived in the amazon rainforest I have seen large birds; birds of prey, owls and parrots in full flight. Their often huge wings outstretched as they soar across the canopy. They often have huge territories from roosting trees to feeding grounds. Seeing them in cages unable to fly except for the short hop from one perch to the next fills me with sadness.
These photos, taken this week of a fledgling owl, say it all, I think.

Despite this I will still visit Paignton Zoo frequently. Its definitely one of the best, if not the best zoo in the UK. As a member you can enjoy a couple of hours in a very pleasant environment and a chance to see animals and birds close up.

Malta…no place for a bird….three weeks of slaughter.

Malta…no place for a bird.

I wish I knew why some men in Malta think that blasting a small songbird to pieces is a good thing and something to get excited about.
What possible pleasure can a man get from killing a bird that has made the arduous journey across Africa on its way to Europe. A bird that is possibly suffering from a certain amount of exhaustion and so is a sitting target. Literally in the case of Montagues harriers who roost on the ground in the evenings and are blasted to pieces where they lay.

Some of the birds they hunt are endangered and yet they are allowed to shoot 16,000 turtle doves and quail each spring. The hunters also ‘accidentally’ shoot other birds ie; swifts, kestrels, gulls, bittern and a Montague’s harrier.
They seem unconcerned that they could succeed in obliterating some species, but see it as their right to do this.
(I don’t agree with breeding pheasants so they can be shot out of the sky for fun either. Just as sickening.)

True, I don’t understand the point of hunting in the first place. Certainly if its your only way to provide food for your family then I don’t see the problem, but to shoot anything for pleasure gives me the creeps and I would avoid someone who derived enjoyment from it.

Glad to see Chris Packham making a stand and getting plenty of publicity for it and that there are many bird lovers and locals in Malta (60%) who want this hunting stopped. I wish them the best of luck.

Malta is bird hell http://gu.com/p/3zmf8/tw