Swans galour

A swan swims in the tranquil waters of the River Nagold in Pforzheim on a bright sunny day.

Suddenly it takes flight having had enough of just meandering around and it is quite a dramatic exit.

Meanwhile further down the river another swan is busy arranging twigs in a nest and I wonder if there are any eggs yet. 

Well the swan is very obliging allowing me a brief peek and I count at least eight eggs, which is not bad going for such a large bird. Note the plastic debris. Something which you never used to see in nests. Let's hope that when the chicks hatch they don't try chewing on the plastic bags.

Update 110518

Today all but one or two of the swan's chicks had hatched. The swans seemed to be doing better than the ducks as I only saw a single duckling with its mother today. The rest must have succumbed to a fox or something.

I counted at least six swan chicks and one egg.

A lone duckling forges on ahead of its mother. Strangely there are plenty of mallard ducks everywhere but I have not seen a single nest yet.