Swan guard

NOW we’re well into spring with some incredible days in the offing, I don’t waste too much time before heading off on my daily canalside walk.

A few days ago I managed to capture a rather humorous photo sequence while stopping to chat to another boating friend and his dog. I’d already photographed an incubating female swan on the opposite side of the pound. While we were chatting the male swan, known to regular towpath walkers and boaters as Henry, quietly swam across and then purposefully lingered adjacent to where we were standing on the towpath as if he was listening to our conversation.

Like any male swan attending a female during the breeding season, he kept his wings semiarched and fluffed out as a warning display. Within a minute of moving off I heard Henry the swan take off behind me. As I turned around, he was flying just above the water surface directly towards me, while paralleling the towpath.

No sooner had he flown past me than he skidded along the surface, braked sharply and then slewed around. He then enjoyed a vigorous shake, rapid tail feather wag and swam over to the towpath bank to give me another warning display before losing interest .

As I turned around, I saw Henry start flying towards me.

He then swam over, gave me a quizzical look with his wings slightly fluffed out, before losing interest and returning to his spouse.

He landed and skied along the surface, before braking sharply.

The female swan incubating her eggs.