Category: David

Cormorant in a tree watching the river Avon in Stratford. It also seems to be keeping an eye out on the Crown Plaza hotel.

Black swan on the river Avon at Stratford, seen on a second consecutive day earlier this month. The previous day, it had been swimming along with a small group of mute swans, with no signs of conflict.

Now it was near the chain ferry, in the midst of a larger group of mute swans which were hanging around in the hope and expectation of being fed. Someone did indeed start to do this. Suddenly the black swan started threatening all the others. Mute swans are quite a bit bigger that it, often touchy and aggressive.

Despite that, the black swan’s aggression cleared quite a space round itself, giving it prime access to the bread which was being thrown to the birds.

Once the food was all gone, the black swan moved from among the mutes, a little further from the river bank. and started to preen.

When we came back half an hour or so later, it had swum a short distance further upstream, and was preening again near the far bank. It was in a position where it still had sight of the ferry-side feeding area, and probably also the one by Bancroft Gardens and the canal basin.

Dunnock hopping round on the ground right by the busy riverside footpath in Stratford on Avon. It didn’t seem to be taking any notice of people nearby.

Growing in a recently-established local nature reserve by the river in Stratford on Avon, teazles with a light coating of frost.

A sunny but frosty morning early this month. A busy road junction where two major streams of traffic heading towards the town come together. By the junction a square lawn, the short grass coated in ice crystals. Spread around the lawn, a dozen or more redwings search for something to eat. They must have been finding enough. They were still there when we came back across the lawn over an hour later.

The Dirty Duck is a pub with a terrace giving a view on to the river in Stratford on Avon. Originally, it was the Black Swan: it’s now licenced under both names.

The river thereabouts is crowded (or overcrowded) with swans fed by people on the riverbank. They are, of course, mute swans, the native species. Their feathers are white, not black. Young birds are a brownish grey, still not black. There is a swan species with black feathers – Australian.

Earlier this month, we were surprised to see a black swan on the river there, actually on the stretch of water overlooked by the eponymous pub. It was in the midst of a group of four or five mute swans, seemingly swimming companionably with them towards the main bird feeding area.

I just had time to grab these shots on a mobile before it headed off upstream.