The Cygnets Have Arrived.

The cygnets have arrived. Once again we have two families. One has two cygnets and the other six. We are hoping this year that all will survive and war will not break out.The Cob from last year that caused all the trouble is not on the pond this year so maybe these two families will tolerate each other.

Sunday Afternoon at Hatchetts Pond.

It was very bsy around the pond today and their were several dogs running lose and playing in the water near the swans. The cob was guarding his family.
All seven little cygnets are doing well and growing fast. they are now about 6 weeks old.

There are also plenty of waterlilies, white , pale pink and a deeper pink covering the smaller ponds.
This rather bedraggled juvenile Jackdaw was perched in a tree, he didn't seem to be able to fly too well and I wonder if he will survive.

Swan Wars?

After our walk on Thursday Morning we drove up to see the Swans. The family down at hatchetts Pond are doing well, but something seemed amiss at Hatchetts Moor. This is the Cob and he seemed to have abandoned his family. Their nesting site was at the far end of Hatchetts Pond out of site of the other family, but on Thursday the Pen and the cygnets were on the nest and dad was down in the little lily pond. We watched for about 30 mins and he just stayed put. In the afternoon i slipped back and he was still sitting on his own. Swans are usually very protective of their young and i was a little concerned. I phoned one of the Forest keepers and he said he would drop by and have a look. The problem is that Male swans will fight and he thought that the other male may have warned this one off, as they have had trouble in the past when more than one pair have chosen to nest on the same pond.
When I returned on Friday the family was reunited but they are now all down by the lily pond. This is a very small pond and I wonder how they will fare here.

The Seven Cygnets on Hatchetts pond are all doing well

Some of the cygnets

Mrs Swan at Hatchetts Moor with her three cygnets

Cygnets above and Daddy swan below

The Abbotsbury Swannery

Abbotsbury Swannery conserves the only manged colony of nesting Mute swans in the world.Mute Swans are usually fiercely territorial by nature and it is therefore rare to see so many nesting swans in such close proximity to each other.but there are up to 150 pairs on a 2acre nesting site.There are often more than 600 adult swans on the site. In England the crown claims ownership of Mute swans with only three exceptions one of which is Abbotsbury. In1543 the Strangways family was given the right to claim ownership of all the nesting swans on the site and the family still own the swannery today,

Cygnets in a cosy bed.
New born cygnets and swans eggs
Riding a white swan.
feeding time for the non breeding swans

Cygnets

The Swan Family at Hatchetts Pond

This afternoon we went back to the pond to see if we could get some photos of the cygnets

We walked round the pond until we could see the Cygnets in the reeds , we waited and waited and eventually they came up on to the bank

The swans are very good parents keeping constant guard over their 7 little cygnets

They are just so adorable

Herring gulls
Feeding time at Hatchetts Pond

Blackheaded gulls
4hawfinches high up in a tree
hawfinch

Fallowbuck
White buck
Bucks grazing at Bolderwood as the sun goes down

Christ church

The old Mill House Christchurch

Greylag Goose

Billing and Cooing swans

Pied wagtail


Christchurch priory. Building was begun in 1094, but a Saxon Minster from the 7th century was demolished to make way for it. The nave and transepts are in the Norman style whilst the great Quire and lady chapel are in the more delicate Perpendicular style.
The Priory has some beautiful stained glass and the sun was shining through leaving coloured patterns on the stone work.


Christchurch also has the remains of a Norman castle and Norman House

A Trip to keyhaven

Keyhaven is a little seaside village on the Solent, about 40 minutes drive from home. Although it was grey , with a little drizzle in the air we decided to go and check out a couple of Wildlife Trust Reserves. First we went to the Lymington Reedbeds but we were not impressed it looked more like a building site tip. So we got back in the car and went off towards Keyhaven. I am not sure we found the Wildlife Trust Reserve , but we managed to walk along the Solent way towards the coast. On the way we saw plenty of wild life. Oystercatchers, Turnstones, BrentGeese,Mute swans. We also got to seethe sea.

Juvenile Swan

Turnstone

Mute swans

Keyhaven



A Flotilla of swans

Turnstones

Brent geese Flying and Oyster catchers