Black swans nesting in St. James's Park, London

Just over a couple of weeks ago, on my birthday, I went for a short walk in the late morning to St. James's Park.  I could not stay very long as I was meeting some friends in the afternoon in order to celebrate my birthday by going up to the Sky Garden in the Walkie Talkie building in Moorgate and then for a meal in a restaurant at Bank.  I just walked round half of the lake and I was so glad I did.

I was busy photographing something else when I got distracted by a Mute swan and some Greylag geese noisily honking and staring at something I could hardly see on the island in the centre of the lake.

When I got further round the lake, I saw what had attracted all the fuss - a pair of black swans had made a large nest behind a brick wall and in front of a fallen tree trunk on the island.  In fact, there was a Greylag geese sitting behind the tree trunk and watching the swans!

The swans were partially hidden by swaying fronds - the twiggy branches of a tree on the island.

The smaller female swan was sitting in the centre of the nest.

Her mate was sitting on one side of the nest and the whole area was covered with sticks.  He then got up and walked along behind the wall.

In fact, both black swans got up and started gathering up more sticks to add to their rather huge nest.   It is quite high up so I hope, if they have babies, that the young ones will be able to manage the long climb up to the nest!

Last Sunday, two weeks after I took the first photographs of the black swans on the nest, I went back to St. James's Park.  Now there are leaves and fronds on the swaying branches of the trees and it is almost impossible to see the swans.  The female, however, was still sitting on the nest and I managed to get a glimpse of her when the wind blew open a gap in the greenery.

Now I definitely would not know that the black swans were nesting on the island if I did not already know that they were nesting on the island!

Great Crested Grebe on nest

On Sunday I went for a hot walk in Hyde Park.  As I was walking along near the Long Water, I thought I could see a Great Crested Grebe - one of my favourites - swimming in the distance (where Grebes always are!) in front of the reeds on the other side of the lake.

I must apologise for the quality of the following photographs as the action was all taking place much too far away to get any decent pictures, but I am putting them on this post anyway.

I took a photograph in the hope that something would show up in it.  It did, sort of!  There is a Great Crested Grebe swimming along towards the reed bed - presumably Mr. Grebe.

I walked on a bit further and, through a clear space in the tall plants and shrubs along the edge of the Long Water, I could see something more-or-less directly opposite me at the edge of the reeds.  When I downloaded the photographs onto the computer, it was easy to see the Coot swimming past and a little more difficult to see what was at the water's edge by the reed bed.  It was Mrs Grebe standing on a nest, with some white eggs showing just below her.  I think she is turned them around so that they are evenly warmed by her body when she is sitting on them.

The below photograph shows a little more clearly two eggs on the nest and Mrs. Grebe with a kinked neck.

She is also working on the nest material, probably packing it a little more tightly around herself and the eggs.

Below is a blurry photograph of Mrs. Grebe sitting back down on the nest and keeping the eggs warm.

This is the view of the reed bed taken from the end of the Italian Garden, where Mr. Grebe can once more be seen swimming around.  He has, I think, just passed Mrs. Grebe on the nest, which looks to be in the reeds at about the centre of the photograph.

I know that Great Crested Grebes are very sensible by nesting far away from human sight, but it is very annoying from my point of view as I would very much like to be able to take nice clear close-up photos of them.

Great Crested Grebes with a nest

While I was walking round the park last week I saw, again in the distance, a Great Crested Grebe.  All the wildlife I am really interested in seeing is always in the centre of the lake or at the far end of the lagoon - anywhere but near!  Anyway, he was having a splash around and washing his feathers.  In the photograph below he looks as though he is ready for a dance (but I think that he has already been dancing).

When he had finished his ablutions, he swam slowly towards some trees that were low-lying in the water.

At this point, I was sitting on a bench and having a much-needed rest after walking around for a couple of hours.  I was also having my lunch, which I had to put down and get my binoculars out, as I discovered that the Great Crested Grebe had moved over to the island in the middle of the lake and that he had a mate on a nest.  Hence the reason to suppose that he had already been dancing - as male and female Great Crested Grebes go through an amazing courtship ritual that includes dancing on the water.

Below he is ignoring her as she is standing up and compacting the materials in the nest.  Perhaps he had brought her a new stick or leaves or other nesting material?  They were too far away to properly see what was going on, but she was definitely working on nest building.

Then he was at the front edge of the nest, helping her with the nesting materials.  I am sorry that the pictures are none too clear, but it is the best I could do with the Great Crested Grebes being so far away.

Her partner has swum off and the female was carrying on with moving materials around and stamping on the top of the nest. 

The male Great Crested Grebe had left the female to sort of the nest while he went off looking for adventures and food.

It was absolutely fascinating to see this pair of Great Crested Grebes doing some house-building while I was having my lunch.

Young Coots and attractive nest

Yesterday, when I was walking round the lake in London's Battersea Park, I came across a Coot family.  The larger of the youngsters was swimming around and around in the water with it's parents.

Coot youngster

As is normal when trying to photograph wildlife, only one Coot parent was obliging enough to appear in my photograph.  The other was there, but kept well away.

Parent Coot with young

The larger youngster had a small sibling who was wise enough to stay put in the nest and just watch the day's activities.  It rather looks as though the nest is in a cage, but it is just in front of some railings that are in the water.  

Smal baby Coot sitting in the nest

This nest is very attractive, being made out of lots of sticks, green leaves and algae.  Some Coot nests that I have seen in my travels have looked absolutely disgusting, having been constructed mainly out of our plastic waste that stupid people have thoughtlessly thrown into the waterways.

Growth of nine cygnets in Battersea Park

My first visit to the lake in London's Battersea Park was on 9th April, which was a cool grey day.  I had never walked round the lake before and was surprised to discover how large it was.  There were the usual sort of birds on the water - Canada Geese, Coots, Moorhens, Egyptian Geese, Mallards and Herons.  However, there was a distinct lack of swans.  I have found that the lakes in parks usually contain lots of swans and the only one I saw that day was sleeping on a nest in the reeds at the far side of the lake.

Mute swan on distant nest in the reeds

The next time I visited the lake was over a month later, on 29th May.  This time I saw 2 Mute swans, mum and dad, with 9 tiny cygnets.  I presume that these were from the nest in the reeds as I still have not seen any other swans in the park.  Below was my first view of them swimming along the middle of the boating lake.  The male is leading the way while the female is swimming near her babies.

Mum and dad Mute swan with 9 tiny cygnets

Mute swan pen with 9 tiny cygnets

I made another visit to the lake just a few days later, on 2nd June, and was very pleased to see that the parent swans still had all 9 cygnets.  The swans were lucky to be living in Battersea Park as there did not seem to any seagulls hanging around.  They appear to be persecuting the swans in Hyde Park or Regent's Park instead, who seem to be lucky if they can hang on to just one cygnet, let alone the whole brood.

Female Mute swan with her 9 fluffy cygnets

I went to the park again today, 19th June, and how the cygnets have grown.  They are now looking like young fluffy swans with long necks - and there are still all nine of them.  Great!

9 large cygnets

The male and female swans were making sure that no harm came to their young while a couple of children were feeding them with unsuitable bread.

Male and female Mute swan with 9 large cygnets

9 large cygnets head towards the female Mute swan

It is interesting watching the cygnets grow and I will try to go for another walk in the park soon, if I can.

Swan and new cygnets on Long Water

A couple of days ago I was in Kensington Gardens and looking for the swan's nest that is near the Italian Garden at the end of the Long Water.  It can no longer be seen from the Italian Garden as the thick leaves round the nest hide it from view, so the swan was very wise to choose that area away from lots of prying eyes.  However, it can be seen from the opposite side of the water, looking between the trees and reeds.  The cygnets hatched a few days before my walk and some of them can just be seen in front of the mother swan.

Mute Swan with cygnets on nest

I wandered off and had a sandwich while sitting on a bench near the bridge that divides the Long Water from the Serpentine.  Then I decided to go and have another peek at the swan's nest.  This time mum was taking the cygnets for a swim.

Mute swan pen and cygnets

They swam around for a while.

Mute swan and her six cygnets seen through the reeds

Then it was time to go back to the nest.

Mute swan leading her cygnets back to the nest

 Now then, form an orderly line!

Cygnets climbing back up into the nest

Now the mother swan can settle down again while waiting for her cygnets to get back into the warm under her wing.

Cygnets getting ready to get back under mum's wing

I shall have to try to go back there again soon in order to check on the progress of the cygnets.

Cygnets struggle to climb into steep nest

There is a mum Mute Swan with a nest on an island in the middle of the lake in St. James's Park.  She has 6 cygnets and took them for a swim while I was fortunate to be watching on the opposite bank.  

Photographs of the swan and cygnet trip are in one of my other posts.  This post shows the poor little things trying to get back home.

A black swan is sitting on a neighbouring nest and was actively watching their antics.  Mum and babies are now back near the nest, which is very big and very steep.

Black swan on nest, watching Mute swan and cygnets

 Mummy Mute is back on land, while the cygnets are still in the water.

Mute swan returning to nest while cygnets watch

Mum Mute swan with her 6 little cygnets

 Mummy swan is back on dry land and flaps her wings in order to dry them.

Mute swan flapping wings and cygnets beginning to clamber onto the bank

Climbing onto the land was not easy for such small babies.  Now they have an even harder task  - climbing up to the top of the nest.

Cygnets starting to leave the water

Two cygnets have made it all the way up to the top of the nest and mum swan is trying to encourage the other four to follow.  I suppose it must look almost like Mount Everest to those tiny babies!

Mum swan with 2 cygnets in the nest while the other 4 are still at the bottom.

Dad Mute swan arrives and tried to encourage the remaining cygnets to start climbing.  They are not actually positioned in the best place for getting into the nest and have part of a steep tree root to climb first.  I am sure it would have been much easier for them if they were only a little further to the right, where there is no tree stump and there is only a gentle slope.

Mum Mute swan on nest, Dad Mute in water, cygnets huddled together at base of nest

 Mum Mute checks over one cygnet, while another joins her at the top of the nest - two more to go!

Another cygnet gets to the top of the nest

Now there is only one cygnet still to climb the mountain and dad Mute tries to give encouragement to it.  It was having a hard time and seemed to find it very difficult.  At times it even went back into the water for a rest and was beginning to look very exhausted.

Dad Mute swan tries to encourage the last cygnet to join it's siblings in the nest

The female Mute swan stands up a little, showing the cygnets already in the nest, while the last cygnet is still struggling to get up the bank.  Dad can do nothing to help and can only wait patiently in the water and watch the ordeal the remaining baby is going through.

Mum Mute swan is trying to encourage the remaining youngster to climb the mountainous nest

Mum swan settles down again and the last cygnet is half-way up the hill.

Female Mute swan on nest, male still in the water and cygnet half-way home

Phew! - at last the cygnet is back up on top of the nest and a sibling pops out to welcome it home.

All the cygnets are now with the female swan on the top of the nest

At last daddy swan leaves the water and can breathe a sigh of relief as all his family are now safe.

Male Mute swan now on dry land while female relaxes on the nest at last

The male swan climbs up the nest, while the female and last cygnet are still preening themselves ready for the evening's sleep.

Male and female Mute swans on the nest, with one cygnet still visable

As you can imagine, I took lots of photographs of the fascinating struggle that the poor little cygnets had to go through to get back home.  They will have to repeat this every day but, of course, it will get easier as they grow bigger.