Hatched!

Well, 'my' swan it seems is a little slow in her hatching activites but I did find one that who's eggs have now proceeded to cygnet stage!

There are three but two remained firmly hidden under mums wing for the duration of my visit.



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A half dozen fresh eggs

Hell...it's all birds here recently, I promise you I am not turning into a complete with anorak fully blown twitcher!

If you are one of the loyal souls who has been visiting these parts for some time you may remember, in the days of the white van from hell, that I regularly 'visited' a lady swan who spent weeks sitting on a nest that sadly contained no eggs.

Well, with my current lack of things to do I decided a few days ago to drive over to her spot in the knowledge that she has used the same place to nest for a number of years, just to see if she was there again....and sure enough she was. Her magnificent nest in precisely the same place and with her sitting atop it.

Were there eggs this year I wondered?

I sat it out, I stayed with her for well over an hour and eventually she felt the need to shuffle about and stand up momentarily, allowing me a sight of five or six beautiful, big white eggs!!! This year it seems her endeavours will not be in vain and her patience will be rewarded with a rather large family :o)

I will of course update here as things progress.


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An empty nest

Finally it seems that my egg-less nesting swan has, after over two months of patiently waiting on her nest, realised that there are no eggs and has left.

I'll miss seeing her everyday now, I had got used to checking on her daily but it was sad to see her perched there week in week out to no avail so the fact that she has at last realised and has gone back to the water and her usual life is a happier situation.

How sad

Remember my swan, the one on my daily delivery route that I watched painstakingly build a beautiful nest some weeks ago and then have watched daily sitting atop her eggs waiting patiently for them to hatch.....well sadly there don't seem to be any eggs! :o(

This amazing creature has sat there now for weeks in all weathers, without ever pottering off, waiting for her offspring to hatch. Her partner has dutifully helped with the nest building, bought her food and tended to her every need and then a few days ago I caught her standing up, stretching her legs momentarily and seemingly investigating in the bottom of her nest. I had a clear view and there were no eggs at all, not a one! Again today I managed to catch her standing for a moment and again I could see clearly....deffinately no eggs. I felt so sad for her.

I set about making enquiries among some of the people who work in the vicinity and discovered that exactly the same thing happened last year. The same pair of swans (they are numbered) nested in the same spot, he tended to her needs while she sat on the nest for weeks on end and finally they seemed to realise it was to no avail and gave up on the egg-less nest.

This years it has happened again. I don't know much about swans and their breeding habits and I don't seem to be able to find out if this is a common situation but every day when I see her now, still waiting patiently and getting less and less well kempt, as they do over the prolonged incubation period, I feel sad for her and hope that she will realise before too much longer that there are to be no swan-lets and go back to the water.

Sitting pretty

She's still there 'my' swan, sitting ontop of her now well used nest, being waited on wing and webbed foot by her man. She seems to be happy for me to get within very close range without becoming in the slightest concerned but given that her chosen site is within feet of road through and industrial estate and only yards from a busy main line rail line it's hardly surprising I don't phase her with my camera and coo-ing!



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A place to ponder

My life as you know, has of late not been always too straightforward but in an odd way the job from hell, albeit not very distracting in itself, has been a source of some small pleasures for me.

Day to day the making and delivering of sandwiches, under the tutelage of 'the bitch supervisor from hell' and in vans in varying states of disrepair does nothing to lighten my mood but it does provide me en-route with one or two little treats that somehow have managed to help me through my difficult days.

As my route has evolved I have taken in one or two tiny 'diversions'. Hell, , I work a full shift without being allowed a break (yes I know it's contrary to employment law) so I don't feel guilty in building into my day a few minutes to enjoy the better aspects of trailing around the same roads day in and day out.

There are the rabbits, baby rabbits, up to ten of them at a time playing each morning in a small lane close to my first call. There is by coincidence a small lay-by in the vicinity, which just cries out for me to stop and watch for a few minutes as they play and burrow in the hedges along both sides of the lane.

Further on, about half way through my day is my 'farm cat', who when she shows herself, happily allows me to pick her up and cuddle her for as long as I like while she purrs merrily.

Then of course there are the swans, the mother swan is still sat like lady muck, unmoving beyond the reach of her neck, whilst her mate fetches and carries for her constantly with a small entourage of ducks.

And finally, toward the end of my day there is my 'place to ponder'. Another lay-by but this time in a secluded spot a little off the road, so as to avoid my being caught by the possible passing of my boss. This spot is just a gated entrance to a field but is quiet save for the sound of the breeze in the trees that surround it and the birdsong of a multitude of feathered flutterers. There have been daffodils in the field bobbing their yellow heads and then latterly cows who trampled them but who cares, cows have friendly, happy faces, they can be forgiven. Beautiful large pine cones on the ground, holly berries being devoured by small birds and more rabbits. It is here each day around lunchtime that I stop with my 'hastily bought from a garage cup of awful coffee' to have a cigarette and just to ponder, just to try and get my head straight if it requires it and to take a break from the stuff that is life.


(Clickable) Phone camera again.....I really must buy a better one sometime!

Building a nursery

No, don't panic, the title isn't some convoluted route to announcing that some maternal situation has befallen me!

One of the better aspects of driving a white van for a living is that my route is mainly centered around country lanes, not good I know when it rains or snows but now that the meteorological conditions have improved a little and the natural world has hit spring there are treats to be enjoyed.

One such lane is currently offering a plethora of baby rabbits to entertain me, up to ten rushing about playing together at any one time under the watchful gaze of their parent rabbits. Yesterday, having managed to park up in close proximity to one I very quietly exited the van, stealing a piece of lettuce from a sandwich on my way and managed to persuade one small rabbit to within a meter of me quite quickly....and there I was thinking that lettuce was only a rabbit delicacy in story books!

Today a new treat presented itself. Part of my route takes me alongside a canal. Between the tow path and the car park I use is a small strip of grass verge, on that verge a pair of swans have decided to set up a nursery!


'Mrs. swan' has already taken to her nest, though there is as yet no sign of an egg, and whilst she reposes in all her splendour atop a large pile of twigs nest, 'Mr. swan' is hurriedly and unendingly reinforcing it with more and more twigs, moss and other paraphernalia designed to make his lady more comfortable throughout her confinement. (Why do the males of our species not behave in such a manner I wonder?!)

Neither prospective parent seems too concerned at my standing within a few feet of them, though that may change one they have charge of eggs but I am hopeful that each weekday on my round I can get to see the rest of the story unfold, next some eggs and then in a few weeks time with a little luck some swanlets :o)


It's taken almost four months but at last there seems to be a positive to driving the infernal white van!

Assuming all goes well at the nursery I will try and keep you updated, though images may continue to be of the same poor quality as today's....finding an excuse to be carting my camera around everyday might be difficult....my phone however is allowed.