Wild Birds (or more accurately, just Birds)

A swan in Stratford Upon Avon

No one would ever accuse me of being a “nature girl”.  No one would ever guess that the binoculars I inherited from my mother are ever used for anything but watching the neighbors.  I have no pets…fish or fowl, canine or feline.  But it is not like I am anti-nature or anything like that. 

In fact under the right conditions I can actually enjoy a little nature.  One of those occasions was when we stayed in Stratford Upon Avon.  (I always thought it was Stratford On Avon, which just goes to show you what my public school education was like, or possibly the quality of my attention to detail). 

Swans Upon the Avon

Stratford Upon Avon was one of my “I am exhausted and I can’t do another touristy thing”days.  So when Rod went off to find out information about plays and tours, I plopped myself down on a bench and watch the swans paddle about on the Avon.  (The hotel we stayed in was called: The White Swan Hotel, but of course when I made the reservations so many months before, I had no idea why that name would be so appropriate, including how close to the Avon and the swans we would actually be.)

Wild Bird

I spent a couple of hours doing nothing but trying to get good shots of the multitudinous swans, geese, coots, ducks and other waterfowl, but the swans were the main attraction for me.  They are graceful and social and made for an absolutely pleasant diversion.  And I watched lots of people on the riverbank and on bridges, feeding the swans, as well the more aggressive of the ducks and geese. (These swans were hardly fending for themselves. They were fat and sassy, and accepted every handout greedily.) 

Swan at Stratford Upon Avon

It was impossible not to think about the stories and songs that feature swans, and it was not hard to see why they have captured the imagination of so many over the centuries.