The pecking order

Helena called me after she'd passed by Stratford Park pond on the bus this morning. She was updating me on the progress of the cygnets which two swans have reared on their purpose-built island, in the middle of the old fish pond, next to the Painswick stream. She said there were definitely three cygnets and as my official blip opportunity spotter she obviously thought it was time for me to take a peek.

So after my meeting in town, I went over to Tesco's car park and crossed the road into the Park. The warm sun had brought out the old and the young, mothers and grannies, kids and business suits. There was a lot of duck feeding going on, which lead to a rather hectic atmosphere by the stream and the pond.

The adult pair of swans brought over their cygnets, who all looked very healthy, and swam right up to the path on the bank beside the water. I couldn't get any good shots of the cygnets and wished I had a longer lens and a peaceful atmosphere so that the birds were all more relaxed.

The male swan kept lunging at my boot with its beak and even grabbed it a few times. The many ducks were trying to slide up behind the swans to get the excess bread that had been thrown in. They obviously weren't too frightened as this scenario must be going on every day.

This swan had finally had enough of the ducks, and its attacking response was very intense and noisy, with squawking and thrashing of the water. I will come back to see the cygnets again soon.