A visitor

Black swans may be commonplace in parts of Australia and New Zealand, but the single bird on the River Kent was attracting a lot of attention in Kendal today. I guess it's the same bird that was on the estuary 10 days ago, he's finding more food and attention in the centre of town. These are gregarious birds in the wild, but this one is all alone, it hasn't teamed up with the mute swans of the river. It may be dividing its time between estuary and river, as someone told me she had seen it in Kendal a couple of weeks ago - before I saw it at Sandside.

He/she wasn't my target for the day, but there was not an otter to be seen...as ever. I shall keep trying.

ps This bird will be an escape from a collection, though I'm not sure where from. It doesn't have a ring.

pps A year ago, worth a look if you haven't seen it before, a very spectacular starling murmuration.