Hans Christian Andersen published his fairy tale, “The Ugly Duckling” in 1843, the story of a ‘duck’ who suffers abuse from others, until he matures into a beautiful swan. The story came to mind yesterday as I observed a few maturing cygnets at my local reservoir.
The lake was full of swans, almost to the point where they could be overlooked, other than when they were engaged in youthful activity of chasing one another.
The swans photo-bombed their way into images of smaller birds, such as this stonechat.
There were plenty of examples of the serene swan in all its regal beauty.
Stephen's Wildlife 