Reappearance of the swan family – and a long walk

I have had numerous sightings of a pair of swans on the boating pond recently – on this occasion being investigated by a curious if slightly foolhardy moorhen.

However, I had not seen sight nor sound of the swan family and was seriously wondering whether the cygnets had all been whisked off a good deal earlier than usual and these were the original swan parents.

But no. Yesterday I was down by Hampstead Pond 2 and there was the whole family. The cygnets now all as big as their parents but still mushroom grey and still very much under the control of mum and dad. (Note how they all dutifully troop off  after their parents).  However, the one laggard who we noticed trailing  behind way back, is still very much tail end Charlie – the last one to head off and leave the pond to the ducks and the moorhens.

And then because it was a glorious evening on Thursday, and because I have not taken you on a walk for a while, a very long walk across the top of the heath and around the ponds.  You can leave whenever you get tired – and I apologise for the intrusion of my thumb at one point….