A very quck lunchtime walk found the pair of Mute Swans on Murdieston Dam with seven fairly recently-hatched young. A female Mallard nearby went three better with a brood of ten. The Coots of a few weeks ago are nowhere to be seen but three other pairs were present: one nest-building and two incubating. Finally, the Mute Swan pair on the smaller dam were still sitting tight.
On the passerine front, two House Sparrows were carrying food while two Blackcaps, two Coal Tits and a Goldfinch were singing in the cemetery.
On the way home (over the back roads) a Hare was in a fold in a field next to the road. Back home, the Blue Tits are suddenly all quiet in the nestbox - perhaps the young have flown... although it would be very early as the fledging date in 2008 (the last year the box was used) was 12th June (7,986).