Mum and baby moorhen

I hadn't been back to Blackford Pond since seeing the moorhen pair with two tiny young three and a half weeks ago and I was anxious to see how they were doing. I didn't see them for quite a while and thought that both the young had perished, but then saw this pair - mum and one baby - so that's better than none. The baby is still small and I hope it will survive the weather turning colder, also the heron which was sitting in one of the willow trees.

It looks as if the huge cygnet has finally left, which I have to say must be a good thing as he needs to find a mate. The swan pair were still there, so I'm hoping there will be cygnets in the spring. Elsewhere on the pond there were quite a number of mallard pairs with the drakes looking very smart in their new breeding plumage, a single tufted duck, a fair number of blackheaded gulls, a couple of moorhens not in pairs and a single coot.