Not so graceful.

I've thought for some time that the swans around Kingston bridge were basically a gang of bread junkies. Well today I saw just how far this group of the Queen's birds have fallen! Between 30 and 40 of them were involved in this unsightly scrum to get their beaks on a few crumbs being thrown from the bank. The flock pecking order was being strictly enforced with some of the younger birds being driven away under a barrage of pecks from the older ones. I'm not quite sure how the female mallard, who's head you can just see, managed to survive in the crush and it's amazing that no neck injuries were sustained by the swans.

Other than some hops to the shops and one to the tennis club this was my first proper trip back into the wider world, so thanks to Sandra aka Sight for getting me out and about with the camera again.