I haven’t been having my usual occasional visits to West Park this summer. The tsunami of heatwaves meant that staying indoors in the cool was advisable for someone of my age and various medical conditions. When the long dry spell gave way to a series of torrential downpours, the conditions were still less than inviting for having gentle strolls in the fresh air.
A visit in May, before the great heat, showed one pair of swans resident on the lake. They seemed to be having difficulties controlling the fast and erratic movements of three tiny bundles of fluff, cygnets looking like they were very recently hatched. Perhaps they were keen to explore their new surroundings. They were zooming to put as much space as they could between themselves, their siblings and their parents.
Our next visit was in late August, with the cormorants, herons and tufted ducks. The cygnet numbers had now fallen to two (I had been expecting more losses). The two were approaching the size of their mother, with their juvenile down beginning to give way to white feathers.
But they were still keeping their distance from each other.