Where did summer go?

As I previously mentioned, I’ve been anticipating watching the goslings slowly grow up over the course of the summer. So imagine my surprise today when I saw this:

I mean, look at the size of them! I dunno where these guys have been hiding until now – they must have hatched much earlier than the ones I’ve seen.

For a bit of context, here’s a photo I took on the same day last year:

Quite the difference, eh? No doubt many people will suggest global warming has caused some of them to hatch much earlier than usual. Personally, I think Dominic Cummings is to blame. Now please excuse me for a moment whilst I go back and edit a blog post from last year to show that I predicted this would happen.

Just to reassure you, summer isn’t really over. There’s still plenty of cute little ones around this year. Including this dude all on his own today:

There were a couple of adults a short way up the canal, but he didn’t seem to be ‘with’ them exactly. Normally the adults keep in very close attendance. Maybe this kid is just too cool for school.

And speaking of lonesome birds, I came across my favourite today again, hanging out with one of his Canadian friends.

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Remember him? The sole Greylag, hanging out with the Canadians because there’s none like him around. Well, when I was looking back at last year’s photos, I also found this one:

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He wasn’t alone last year! I can’t believe I’d forgotten about this. I’m really hoping that his partner is still around somewhere – maybe she’s guarding a well-hidden nest. It would be really sad if she’s died and left him on his own. Although very sweet of the Canadians to keep him company. I shall do my best to track down the truth over the coming weeks.

And yes, as I’m sure you’ve all realised, this whole post was constructed simply to give me an excuse to display my favourite picture from last year. I still have no idea how it came out so well, but I have it framed on my wall at home because I’m a shameless show-off.

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