Country diary 1948: the majestic sight of a whooper swan flypast

1 November 1948: Twenty-five swans with necks straight out and wings swishing and whistling, flew low over the lakeCUMBERLAND: The sky was clear, the mountain ridge white with a powdering of snow, and the lake foamed by a nor'easter during long rollers, when twenty-five whooper swans, in a long, extended line, with necks straight out and wings swishing and whistling, flew low to the head waters where the river enters. They were a majestic sight. Later in the day we saw them rise from the lake to flog the water to become airborne and seek a haven where they should not be disturbed again. Overhead at so great a height as to make identification difficult passed two skeins of geese, in the familiar V formation. They were emitting the deep, sonorous note of a foxhound confident he is on the right line and were flying south possibly to Morecambe Bay.Mallard were on the shore and in the woods gobbling the acorns a high flood has softened for them, the tufted duck in large numbers were either resting or diving at the bar of the lake. Cormorants, having dried their wings after perch fishing, were taking their ease along a rocky promontory, and teal close by were up-ending in the shallows. Continue reading...