Tales of the Riverbank 2002/2003
21.02.2002 Male swan attacked and injured two white geese which landed near the Nungate Bridge. One of them was badly hurt and both were taken to the vet, I thought they were wild Snow Geese at first but when I heard how the public had no bother catching them, they must have been from a private lake.
May 2002 Swans have 5 cygnets from 7 eggs, two eggs were infertile and I removed them when the parents took the youngsters down river to shallow water. They do this every year as soon as the last one is hatched.
06.06.2002 Seen a Roe deer at the Abbey bridge, it crossed the river into Amisfield park.
27.06.2002 I noticed a duck with 10 ducklings and three of them were bright yellow. I wondered how long they would last and as it was, the three yellow ones were taken by the gulls within days.
31.07.2002 A gull dropped a good sized trout onto the Victoria weir and before it could wriggle down to the water at the bottom of the weir, a heron came from nowhere like an avenging angel, grabbed and swallowed it after a struggle to get it down its throat.
01.08.2002 Tyne in spate for three days.
03.08.2002 This night after 10 oclock when it was grey dark, Robert Ingle watched a sea trout make a run up the Victoria weir followed by an otter which caught and killed it before it reached the top, seconds later it was joined by three other otters, probably two youngsters and their parents, a family hunting party
10.08.2002 Two Kingfishers at the same weir river running full since start of the month.
08.09.2002 Albino rabbits at east end of Amisfield, they dont survive long with their white coats.
09.09.2002 Moderate spate
10.09.2002 This was proved just 2 days later when a fox crossed my path at the same spot with a rabbit in its mouth and although it wasnt a white rabbit, it shows that a white one would be easier for the fox to see.
15.09.2002 Spotted an albino mink at the Maltings. I knew it was a mink or an otter when I heard the racket the ducks were making and were all out of the water and on the bank with every ducks eyes looking in the direction of the mink or where they had last seen it.
12.10.2002 From end of August to Friday 11th Oct with the exception of two rainy days, we had an Indian summer, if only we could get six weeks like that in our so-called summer when temps are warmer.
15.10.2002 River in spate for three days. Police came to the Tyne Court with flood warnings. Water stopped a couple of feet below top of wall.
18.10.2002 Three more days of spate. The scaffolding across the river at Abbey Bridge was utterly destroyed by tress coming down with the flood. Good run of sea trout after spate.
03.11.2002 Tyne in spate again.
12.11.2002 Counted 20 swans in the flooded field of Amisfield which runs down to the river.
14.11.2002 Tyne in spate again.
02.12.2002 Tyne in spate again.
02.01.2003 Tyne in spate again. Strange black duck at Nungate Bridge.
03.01.2003 The swans have been taking their cygnets on dawn training flights for quite a while but today were their last one and the cygnets are gone. I got used to them flying over my house at Tyne Court every morning.
08.01.2003 A kingfisher fishes from a bush, which hangs over the water at Tyne Court, and there is a pair of them doing the same at Victoria Bridge.
22.01.2003 Yet another spate.
30.01.2003 On the water lately, I have seen a Northern Diver, Coot, some little Grebe, and quite a lot of Goosander and by the river a great titmouse and grey headed yellow Hammer.
23.02.2003 A roe deer on the path at the east end of the golf course, it was so intent watching a couple about a hundred yards beyond it that it didnt hear me coming up behind until I was nearly upon it and it ran into the trees. Saw a Canada goose among the swans in the flooded field at the Abbey Bridge.
Mr. David J. Motherwell