Family life

Whenever I go to Slimbridge I take a pretty set route around the hides, from the Rushy screen down to the Estuary Tower, then circling round to South Lake and the New Piece hides, and finishing with Zeiss. In the winter there are usually a few Bewick's swans on the Rushy Pen, even in the middle of the day when many birds are out grazing in the surrounding fields, and today I immediately noticed a family of four Bewick's: a cob and pen, and two half-grown cygnets. Sadly they were too mobile for me to get them all in the same frame, so this photo just shows the adult male and one of the cygnets, but I was struck by the watchful eye the parents were keeping over their offspring, and moved by the fact that these experienced adult birds have successfully steered this new generation all the way from Russia, to introduce them to their wintering ground for the first time. And so the circle turns.

As I was walking back up the path from the Estuary Tower I received a Whatsapp message from G, saying that another circle was in the process of turning, and though I continued my walk around Slimbridge, my head was over in Wales and I was only able to give minimal attention to my bird list from then on. L gave birth in style to their second child, at home, at around dinner time this evening. From the photos we've seen, mother is (very reasonably) pleased with herself, and son has strong opinions about one or two things. R and I are proud and happy, and looking forward to meeting B minor as soon as he decides to receive visitors.