Fracas on the pond

About a dozen mallards on the pond on the Common late this afternoon. Mostly they were doing what ducks do - swimming around quite peaceably. But every so often the males launched into each other, noisily and sometimes quite violently. The ladies didn't get involved in the fighting, but the one to the right looks as though she's remonstrating with the guys to stop being so silly!

Surprisingly, with all the noise, we spotted 4 red squirrels in the trees, three of which were heading for a hazel bush. Must have been their dinner time!