A juvenile coot begging to be fed

Late in the afternoon I suddenly thought I’d like to go for a walk. The weather had been changeable all day, and bit breezy so instead of a hilltop I decided to head to the towpath by Stonehouse Court  hotel close to St Cyr’s church, two miles west of the centre of Stroud. I drove to the church and then walked a few hundred yards to the towpath and then along it to the small but wide stretch of canal called The Ocean. This was originally a place where sea-going boats which entered the canal from the River Severn could turn around for the return journey.

Although the canal has been dredged, widened and readied for its reconnection to the main inland waterway network, at present it has no traffic. The water is silting up and weeds and rushes are predominating, providing good cover for aquatic bird life, away from foxes but not otters.

I stood on the south bank’s towpath and just watched terns, moorhens, ducks as well as wrens and sparrows on the land.  But my eye caught the very small, juvenile coots which were following their parents as they swam and then climbed up and over the water lilies. I loved the very strange necks and heads of the juveniles as they pestered their parents for food, which did seem hard to find.

I watched on and caught a glimpse of a distant kingfisher whilst admiring swifts and swallows that flew much higher. I hoped they might descend to fly down and dip their beaks in the water whilst in flight, but to no avail.