Swan Song - Led Zeppelin

 A couple of days adrift, but fortunate given yesterday's foul weather, there has been the occassional report from the Dorset Bird Club website and from fellow enthusiasts, of the 'rare' Swan still visiting Longham Lakes and the adjoining Water Meadows sporadically, and nothing vital to keep us on home turf we thought it best to give it another try.

Hardly through the kissing gate this

GREAT WHITE EGRET
(scarce as only having established themselves in Great Britain in recent years)
flew in and landed almost at our feet and considered a

Good Omen.

Followed by what looked like an agitated

CORMORANT

A couple of high-flying Swans of the wrong flavour seemingly having left their

progeny (this years)
MUTE SWANs
to fend for themselves, while the next contender was beyond belief not ever having seen a

GOLDENEYE
on this reserve, while all else included a brace of fine looking juvenile

GREAT CRESTED GREBE
and a rather malformed

CANADA GOOSE
before arriving at the pathway that overlooks the
Hampreston Water Meadows
where there were thought to be Swans but only represented by the smallest of 'white dots' so distant were they. Using the camera as a telescope there looked to be one rather like the objest of our desire, but if we had walked away then it certainly would not have reached the pages of the notebook
Enter Stage Left My Saviour!

A gentleman with the very best of telescops allowed me a peek to confirm the suspicion of the

WHOOPER SWAN

a resident of the High Arctic during the warmer months and over-wintering across a large scattered area with us just on the westerly limits!

A most welcome end to yet another adventure but not closed until admitting that the images have been plucked from the archive, and more particularly our visit (with Dave Foot) to Suffolk last year.

PS

We almost forgot to add this clips

and a still of what may have been a second
GREAT WHITE EGRET

THANKS FOR TUNING IN!