SLEEPY SWANS
The Drove Park pair at rest.
By Andy Gilbert
Here are the two resident Drove Park swans, having an afternoon nap in the sunshine on Valentine's Day 2009. You may have read in the local press that one of the swans was trapped in the ice when the pond froze over last month. I'm pleased to say that she seems none the worse for her adventure.
This is the time of year when I'd expect them to start rebuilding the nest at the side of the smaller pond, in readiness for a new clutch of eggs and, in time, some new cygnets.
Of last year's eight cygnets, just two survived, eventually growing almost as large as their parents before flying off in the early winter to find partners of their own.
Sleeping in the sun
Andy Gilbert