Five Black Swans in St. James's Park

Today my camera took me for another walk round the lake in St. James's Park where I saw all five of the park's Black Swans.

Black Swan 1 was standing at the edge of the lake with its back to me when it stretched out its one-and-a-half wings and a large webbed foot.

Black Swan 2 was standing on one leg and had some lovely ruffled rear feathers.  It actually lives with a pair of Mute Swans that now have two very large juvenile cygnets.  Often the family of five can be seen swimming together on the lake.  This is very strange as the male Mute Swan is very dominant and chases off any other swan that comes anywhere near him and often flies across the lake to do the same to any other swans that are nowhere near him.  So I don't quite understand his tolerance for this obvious interloper!

Black Swan 3 is a young swan that was born last year and has a long thin neck, so I would recognise it anywhere.  I photographed it when it was a tiny cygnet, watched it grow up against all odds and have often gone to the park just to check on it.  It has been chased off by its parents and by the dominant Mute Swan.  At one time I saw it being chased by Black Swan 1, which tried to fly after it using its one-and-a-half wings, eventually caught up with it and bit its backside!  Today it was having a peaceful time.

Black Swans 4 and 5 are the parents of Black Swan 3.  They had seven cygnets earlier in the year, which were having a hard time as the dominant Mute Swan kept chasing the family and nearly drowned the tiny cygnets in the process.  I gather that four of them eventually were rescued and taken to a Swan Sanctuary.  Anyway, since then, the pair have attempted nesting four times and the female has laid several eggs - but to no avail.  They are obviously very fond of one another and I hope there will be some more baby Black Swan cygnets next year.