It’s October already! Have your fledglings left yet? I just packed off the eldest to Uni, hoping we could squeeze his worldly goods into the back of our not very reliable Scenic. Encouraging, helping, cajoling and begging the young ones to leave the nest is not always easy. So it’s nice to know it’s a problem we share with many birds. Though they go for a slightly more direct, or should I say brutal, approach.
Buzzard in flight
Case in point, the numerous buzzards congregating at Drumbeg and Giant’s Ring. What’s all that screeching and flapping and calling about? Frustrated parents trying to get the young to buzz off and find their own territories. And eventually they do. As birds of carrion, they have plenty of spots to choose from. Near motorways or roads for great roadkill pickings, or the many parks and farmlands along the Lagan.
Buzzards are not too strict about territory. So they can put up with a bit of territorial overlap with the young. But only until nesting season when lines must be drawn.
Moorhens are more ruthless. Once autumn comes, you are no longer a cherished offspring but competition. And with these territorial birds, there is no compromise. Gone means gone.
For moorhen parents, the most effective tactic seems to be an aggressive display, and if that does not spur a hasty retreat, a mad chase. Such is the nesting imperative that the drive to get the young uns to sling their hook is frantic.
Fortunately there currently are many places within the Park for a young moorhen to shack up. In anticipation of the major dredging works on the canal, which was going to mean displacement of birds and loss of habitats, Park staff planned well in advance. They teamed up with the National Trust to create a series of ponds near the Lagan at Lady Dixon Park. These, along with the new wetlands created, provide invaluable extra feeding and breeding spaces for migrants and other birds. But in the moorhen hierarchy, territory along the river will always be prime real estate. Disputes can get fierce.
The duckweed IS greener for this moorhen
Of course these species are not the only ones who have reached the ‘fed up with feeding them’ stage. Urging offspring to get their own grub now that they’re grown is just part of the yearly cycle for birds.
So if your kidults think you’re giving them a hard time, bring them to see the large groups of adult pairs of buzzards happily driving out the next generation. The recent sunny days have provided great thermals, so the birds are wheeling high overhead making their distinctive predatory calls. Translation: ‘get a life and don’t be bringing your laundry home either’.
P.S. To hear the actual calls, go to www.rspb.org.uk
P.P.S And to learn more about the award-winning canal and conservation projects at the Park go to laganvalley.co.uk
Pictures provided by Lagan Valley Regional Park