Devotion

No spectacular sunrises or sunsets today, just greyness turning to light rain. I went for a walk at lunchtime along the Kent in Kendal, the first time since seeing the otter before Christmas. There have been many sightings recently of the female otter and her two fully grown kits. They didn't show for me today.

But this pair of swans more than compensated. I was focused on the cob when the pen came into shot. For a few seconds they displayed together, and I very nearly got the shot of the necks forming a heart. Then they both lifted their heads as their bodies touched. Beautiful. These are birds that mate for life, a devoted couple. The pen is on the left, she is not quite so large as the cob, with a smaller knob at the base of the bill.

The black swan has reappeared on the river in recent weeks after an absence of a couple of months. He/she has a companion now, an immature mute swan, see link.. The young mute is quite protective and today I saw it see off an adult when it came too close.

Although it was cooler, the signs of the coming breeding season are there. As well as the paired swans, the herring gulls are in twos, and there is a pair that are regularly perched and calling from the chimney of the building next to our office. There is an almost deafening chorus of wrens singing in Redhills Wood as Gus and I head out for our morning walk. The black headed gulls are becoming chocolate headed again. Soon the first chiff-chaff will be singing. A warm day may tempt a wintering blackcap into his fluid warble. The promise of the Spring.

ps Thank you for all the suggestions for sorting my downloading problem of portrait photos to the iPad. Nothing helped until I blew into the socket of the tablet, and then it worked.