Due to the lock-down my five hour walks in the Kent Weald and North Downs have been replaced by the allowed one hour in urban London.
Luckily Tooting Common, Clapham Common and Brockwell Park are nearby so there is plenty of green space nearby.
A highlight of Brockwell Park during spring is the hatching of the cygnets. The swans have been nesting on the ponds for four years.
The first year the nest was built on an island on a small pond with the swans moving to the largest, more open pond, after the hatching of the cygnets.
The next year the nest was built on the largest pond and the cygnets moved in the opposite direction back to the island. Unfortunately this did not provide the protection from foxes that might be expected.
Since then the cygnets have remained where they hatched on the largest pond. The prelude to hatching is the male swan driving the heron who generally lives there away. Last year I saw the heron on the nest, the water littered with feathers, presumably after eating one of the cygnets.
This year six cygnets have hatched. Generally only half survive the foxes and heron but this hopefully they will be more successful this year.
Ramblings From The Cloud 