One of the features of the Avon and Kennet canal was the wildlife. I don’t know an awful lot about it but nice to see how excited the youngest got spotting all the birds and insects. It was mainly ducks, with some swans and the odd moorhen and coot.
The ducks and swans where very tame, mainly because all the boaters kept feeding them. I had to stop every so often so we could feed them as well. Because they were so tame I was in constant fear of crushing one as they went in between passing boats when even went on the inside while I was trying to moor. I didn’t kill any but it was a close run thing.
We also made the mistake of taking our dog. The dog is obsessed with ducks, he has never caught one and I’m not sure he would kill one if he did but still I wasn’t going to risk it. He would probably forget he was scarred of water and go flying into the canal then I would have to rescue him so most the time we had to keep him tied up. Tying up and leaving him alone for an hour or so was a big mistake. He could hear the ducks and was so desperate to get out he scratched the wooden door. Fortunately, because of the smelly toilet the company didn’t charge us for it.
Anyway here are some pictures of ducks and other birds to make up for having to read this boring article.
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