Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
This afternoon I went to Killerton with my family and had a lovely walk in bright sunshine – which was far from ideal for photos. We did find this robin turning on the charm and posing for me!
And then William and Louisa agreed to share their raisins, so my son tempted Mr Robin by putting some on a branch.
Red vested love bird
tweets declaring territory
scatters flyers its size twenty times
widgeon’s scarved with orange rise,
with wings a choir of sopranos
and a solo plover wades haughtily by
January mist over Riversmeet
tide covers a murking of mud
fading web prints rushing away
taken by sizzling foam
twitchers with tripoded lenses
gaggle off to identify geese
arriving as guests of the Clyst.
Two very friendly birds at Rosemoor yesterday.
I knew exactly what I would share with you when I saw the theme this morning. This solitary black swan has been around the river for a year or so, and Fifi as she is known, hit the local newspaper this week because she is lonely. There are lots of mute swans on the Exe and the canal, but of course black swans are native to Australia, not Britain. When I saw her last year, I assumed she had made her way up river from Dawlish, where there has been a colony for decades. Apparently not though, she is not ringed and it’s thought that she may have escaped from a private garden. She has been nest building but has no mate, the local birds have attacked her and she is probably feeling terribly rejected. The Dawlish swan herd says that she should be taken there, but that it would be costly to capture and move her and so far no one has offered to pay. I hope the newspaper article prompts a donation from a wealthy bird lover! Here she is. 
There are lots more interpretations of solitary over at The Daily Post
