Common Nature

Yellow wagtail standing on the wing mirror of an old blue Toyota Yaris.

This is how we know spring has finally arrived. This yellow wagtail - I assume it's the same one - arrives every year to use our house as the stage for his mating dances. One year he spent his time prancing on the windowsill of my husband's office. Another year it was my office window. This year, he's decided that the best place to show off is the wing mirror and passenger door of our second car. He has also produced a prodigious quantity of poop to festoon the mirror's casing but it seems pointless to wash it until his ritual has paid off!

( Three more poses )

A mother duck and two ducklings came to dabble in the overflow of our lock, to groom, and to have a nap. I may have taken quite a lot of photos.

( ”+14” )

Eldest and I were just finishing a walk on the towpath when we spotted a pair of swans doing a slow dance in the section of canal next to our house.

We watched them for a while and then it appeared they were finished, so we put the camera down and moved closer. We were a little shocked when the male jumped on top of the female, hence why some of the photos under the cut are a little blurry, as above!
( +12 )