Love Birds

These beautiful black swans are courting. It was fascinating to watch them nuzzle each other in their romantic bubble as all around them was total chaos with the swan feed at Leeds Castle this afternoon.

I spent an interesting couple of hours with my friend and ex-colleague the Wildlife Warden as he took me on a tour behind the scenes today. I've been promising to visit for a while and meet the new additions to the swan collection.

I was delighted to hear they're now running Wildlife Experiences and if my few hours' taster is anything to go by then I'm sure they'll be popular. I might even buy one for my dad for Christmas!

We toured the estate for the afternoon swan feed, which was gatecrashed by a huge amount of greedy Canadian Geese and a few ducks for good measure. Hitchcock Birds eat your heart out!

We spotted a Kingfisher, I met Jack the Peacock, a colourful Mandarin duck and two 'teenage' whopper swans, who are sporting beautiful grey feathers as their white plummage starts to come through.

Much laughter ensued as I helped to catch some 6 week old chickens to put them away for the night. The warden beat me 5:3!

I had an amazing time taking a peak back into the world of the castle and it dawned on me today that already eight months' have passed since I completed the maternity cover PR role.

I miss the beauty and serenity of the castle and the 500 acres of parkland but today gave me a fix. Apparently on my next visit I'm tasked with catching a swan. Not sure if that is a threat or a promise! I'll let you know...