Menoturals; Watery Wonderland

Joining in with the LLB gang for Nature Friday.  While sitting by the Firth of Clyde during that week of summer, I was delighted to see a pair of swans and their almost fully fledged cygnets enjoying the weather...

I wasn't quite quick enough to switch to video for this couple's conversation. It was quite the to-and-fro for a while, and definitely a "where did you go and what did she say...no really?!" kind of chit-chat. Then one partner sat down, and the talk settled a bit...

Did you know....

The average lifespan of a Herring Gull is typically 12 to 20 years after reaching maturity in their fourth year. However, individuals can easily live into their 30s, and the oldest recorded Herring Gull in the wild lived to be 49 years.

Herring Gulls mate for life, with both partners sharing the incubation and rearing duties. However, they also have a 'divorce' clause: if they consistently don't produce viable chicks, they may agree to find other partners - though that comes with all the cost of having to get back on the courtship scene!

Chicks are mottled grey for their first season, growing whiter with each passing year until they reach breeding maturity at four years, when the distinctive yellow bill with the red spot appears. Although life will likely be long for them after that, reaching that stage is fraught with danger, and many chicks simply don't make it to that age.

These Gulls are now on the UK red list as critically endangered. Numbers have been dropping steadily over a few decades, partly due to culling, but most recently they were severely affected by avian flu. 

Signing off with a wonderful summer view "doon the watter" of the firth...