Bird fans have been keeping watch on a swan and her nine cygnets on the lake in Valentines Park, Ilford.
The birds hatched this week and there was concern today as they hadn’t been seen after several photographers had snapped the mother and her brood earlier. But Ian Miller reported on Twitter that he had taken their photograph on the smaller lake this morning.
Traditionally the hatching of the birds is considered to herald the beginning of summer.
Royals Society for the Protection for Birds (RSPB) member Richard Leighton, 63, of Oakwood Gardens, Seven Kings said: “Usually a large brood is the sign of a contented bird as they only lay the number of eggs that can be sustained. It also shows that the lake is a well balanced environment with enough food and not too many threats so it wouldn’t have had so many.”
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