ML646401297

Observation details

The male of the loitering pair made his move this morning. After the two males eyed each other up across the footpath for half an hour or more, the challenger waddled onto the pond. He was marginally larger, with his strong thick-set neck puffed up! He ment business. The challenger swam slowly after the other male, which kept it's distance. They then briefly held their ground, before a very speedy swimming chase ensued. The challenger occasionally flapping his wings and putting extra pressure on the other male. They chased each other in a large circuit around the island in the pond, until the challenger changed gear and swam at the other male with incredible speed. The water wake was impressive! The aggression increased as the two birds came around to the footpath exit of the pond and the challenger chased the old male out onto the high tide waters of the Sweare Deep channel. The challenger continued to fly and chase the other bird for a couple of minutes before eventually the old male swam off towards Conigar Point. The female of this new pair watched on. I waited around for awhile to see if the usurpers would come onto the pond. They did not.