David

One of this year’s West Park greylag goslings feeding alongside one of its parents (the other goslings and adults were all nearby).

In just a few short weeks it’s grown from a fluffy little bundle of down to reach adult size or thereabouts.

Filberts, otherwise known as cobnuts or hazelnuts, just beginning to develop. Come autumn, they are destined to be eated before they fully ripen: this is grey squirrel territory.

A tiny water snail, with a flattish spiral shell. To keep cool on a sunny morning, it was resting on the underside of a leaf, which was itself in the shadow of another leaf.

A few flower buds were still to open, but most had done so some time before. Their petals were beginning to shrivel, their season nearing its end.

This year’s West Park greylag goslings were near the lake, nibbling at the grass. They were in a creche, watched by both sets of parents and a couple more adult greylags.

Suddenly they all started to walk, heading away from the water. I thought I might have got too close and disturbed them. But when I turned slightly, a swan with a cob on was swimming directly towards the geese as fast as it could.

It was indeed a cob. Possibly the one with this year’s brood of cygnets: they were further round the lake, watched over only by the pen, although hidden by the island from the events I was watching unfold.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a swan with its body held so tensely in the threat posture before. It totally ignored me as I stood, somewhat nervously, nearby. As it stalked in the direction of the geese, they carried out a dignified retreat.

Acorns just beginning to form. The pictures were taken, as it happens, preciscely a month ago.