Whooper Swans

Another glorious frosty morning, so I headed out to Ferry Meadows to make the most of the sunshine and sparkling landscape. As I was walking along the river I spotted a flock of swans in the distance, and quickly realised that they were whooper swans. There are large flocks on the Nene Washes east of Peterborough, and they can be seen foraging in arable fields over much of the fens, but they're not a common sight west of Peterborough. 

I thought they would just pass by, but suddenly they turned and flew right over my head before losing height and landing in a nearby lake. Of course, I made my way towards them and spent some time with the flock of sixteen birds, which included two juveniles. One of the swans was ringed and I later found that I'd got a photograph enabling me to read the letters on its ring. Apparently ZCD was first ringed at Martin Mere in Lancashire in 2018, and was spotted there again later in 2018 and then in 2019. I'm not quite sure why it's decided to visit Peterborough this year!

Pete and i visited Molly in the afternoon - fortunately she was in good form. we drove back along the Welland where we again saw lots of goosander and a barn owl.

In the evening I went to the theatre with Sarah, Ben and Alex to see Cabaret (Sarah had been given a set of free tickets for the first night performance). I have to say it was probably one of the best theatre experiences I've ever had - witty and heart wrenching in turn - a real emotional roller-coaster. The production was superb - inventive sets, colourful costumes, superb orchestra, amazing choreography - everything you could possibly want. The cast certainly deserved the very long standing ovations they received at the end of the performance.