My first visit to Rye Meads.....and the swans put on a show!

I finally made it to the lovely Rye Meads reserve today.  The weather was gorgeous and I saw some fantastic birds but I thought the stars of the show deserved their own thread - after all, they caused quite a lot of comment in the Draper Hide:

Ooo-er!

That doesn't look very comfortable for the female!

'All right down there?'

'You can come up now.'

What followed was absolutely beautiful:

Well, that was my visit off to a great start!

Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.