LARGE RED DAMSELFLY

Short or long visits to the Park are always rewarding, especially at this time of year. I only stopped for half an hour on my way to get other things done. There are still a lot of fluffy things on the pond - most of the cygnets still, I think, and loads of cootlets. No sign of ducklings or goslings, though. I suspect the male swan and the seagulls deal with them quite brutally.

I also caught a male blackbird and a youngster literally sun-bathing in different parts of the Park (extras). Are they using the UV rays to disinfect their feathers and skin I wonder? I can imagine it would cool them down, but it was only 17 or 18 degrees today - not sweltering at all.