Mr and Mrs Swan with their new kids: This is the little pond at the end of my road. This pair have been returning here each winter for about the past ten years. It’s not really big enough for swans, but they use it as a sort of maternity unit cum nursery until the cygnets…

Yesterday, I opened my front door and saw this lot trooping past: On their way to the pond at the end of the road. It was a slow and stately procession, marked by the slap of webbed feet on tarmac. It seemed more like  a protest march, I expected to see a placard: The young…