Swans & Geese attacking Ducklings etc

[wizzo]

After listening to Chris Packham on a radio phone-in today, I'm wondering if he was taking the mick or whether he was just being naive. The subject was 'should Swans, Ducks and waterfowl in general, be fed with white bread'.
The presenter then went on to say how he'd witnessed a Swan, who's space had been invaded by a young Duckling, holding the bird under water by it's neck, and drowning it. Chris ridiculed this by saying that in over 40 years of watching birds, he had never heard of such a thing let alone witnessed it. He suggested that the presenter had been 'on the white bread' himself and was watching too much 'RoboSwan'. It got me thinking, as to how, such a so called expert, who spends so much time outdoors, could have missed such a common event. I must have seen this at least five times, without particularly spending that much time hovering around lakes. A fact bourne out by several other callers and Duck hunters. I was wondering how many Wabbers had been witness to such aggressive behaviour from Swans or Geese? Wizzo

[solus]

A slightly different but just as violent observation was of a Mute Swan pair driving away a youngster (one of their own from the previous year, I suspect) by chasing it along the canal and when it tried to "hide" between a moored narrow boat and the bank, proceeding to follow it in to the gap and hold its head under water. We watched this going on for more than 10 minutes until eventually the full-grown cygnet flew off low over the water for some considerable distance, all the while chased by one of the adult swans.
I have also seen swans being aggressive to ducks in a similar way when a mixed group of wildfowl have been "competing" for bread thrown to them but this has always appeared to be an "Oi, that's mine!" warning rather than a serious attempt to kill.

I thought bread was bad for waterfowl anyway, not because of any territorial aggression caused (I'll bet that would still happen if corn or specialised pellets were being fed) but because it can fill the birds while not supplying sufficient nutritious benefits as well as any excess bread left around potentially leading to rats turning up in large numbers and the uneaten debris polluting the water?

Just out of interest, does Chris Packham have any academic qualifications in natural history or is he simply a TV presenter with an interest? Not that there's anything wrong if that is the case but he's made some errors of fact in Autumnwatch recently and a lot of people who hear something or read it in the media from a so-called "expert" will take all that person says as gospel....

[rossy]

you know what chris packam says the clue is in the poo ! rossy.

[actionfinch]

Originally Posted by rossy

you know what chris packam says the clue is in the poo ! rossy.

lol

[healfdan]

Hi Wizzo
Even experts cannot have seen everything that goes on in the wild. And this being the case, it is sometimes better not to express an opinion when someone else shares a first hand account of an event he/she witnessed.
As for the question regarding a swan attacking a duckling, yes it does happen. I witnessed a cob pecking relentlessly at a well feathered juvenile mallard. The mallard was so water logged it had a job to make it to the shelter of a reed bed. Even then the swan continued to menace the bird. A more common sight is when any bird gets on the wrong side of a coot as they can be very aggresive. I was witness to an event where a carrion crow tried to take a coot chick that was resting on a lily leaf. One of the parent birds rushed across the pond and before the crow could lift off attacked it. The coot using its body weight forced the crow underwater and using both of its large feet pummeled the crow until it drowned.

[RKB]

Originally Posted by solus

Just out of interest, does Chris Packham have any academic qualifications in natural history or is he simply a TV presenter with an interest? Not that there's anything wrong if that is the case but he's made some errors of fact in Autumnwatch recently and a lot of people who hear something or read it in the media from a so-called "expert" will take all that person says as gospel....

He's got a degree in Zoology. The bloke he replaced on Springwatch had a degree in....English Literature!

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by RKB

He's got a degree in Zoology.

Would be a pleasant change if he used this once in a while.

[wizzo]

With reference to the feeding of waterfowl, or birds in general with white bread. It was reported in a national tabloid today, that a woman and her child were approached by a park keeper, who asked that they stop feeding the birds on the pond with white bread. This was, what sparked the discussion on the radio, in the first place. Chris was asked his opinion on wheather or not, this was accurate. He stated that whilst white bread wasn't ideal, it was preferable at this time of year, to feed the birds with bread, rather than not at all. It was generally thought that wholemeal or granary was a better alternative. So Solus, it appears that you are correct, and that white bread should be avoided if there is an available alternative. Corn or maize would appear to a much better option. However, you shouldn't feed tinned or processed corn or maize. Wizzo

[Goatboy]

Didn't hear the show myself so can't comment. Is it possible he was joking and just came across wrong?
Seems odd that a knowledgeable guy like him (and he is) isn't aware of this behaviour.


Even so, nobody knows everything and only fools think they do.

[wizzo]

No I definately don't think he was joking. In fact, someone said that this aggressive behaviour was featured on one of the Springwatch shows, some time ago? Wizzo