Ugly duckling

The cygnets at Blackford Pond have doubled in size again since I last saw them. And they are looking hilarious in their tatty plumage.

In additon, one moorhen chick in teenage plumage seen with mother (extra photo to record this historic event - my first moorhen chick on Blackford Pond), another moorhen still sitting. And lots of rats - eight at one time feeding on oats a few feet from where I was standing. There was a notice up about not feeding the birds on bread, instead on various other foods including oats, and another notice about rats and Weils disease, but there was a bit of a flaw in their logic - rats like oats as well as bread.