Aberbrothock: Angry Birds - Mute Swans and Herring Gulls

Quite a bit of aggro going on just now at Keptie Pond as a pair of younger Mute Swans have tried twice to land and stay on the pond, the resident pair just won't let them. Also joining in today were two fighting Herring Gulls and the usual Coot battles, and they're not just chasing each other.

The first photos show a Goosander with what seem like a large Perch near it's limit. There are a few of a Heron flying around the pond, and the first Lesser black-backed Gulls of the year.

Another LBBG features in a video filmed later on the beach

Lesser black-backed Gull, Danger Point

Goosander having a bit of a struggle with a Perch. Note the raised dorsal fin with very sharp spines

It let the Perch settle in its stomach and swam away to digest it in the shelter of the island

No idea what these Herring Gulls were fighting about, this is the second round, the first was more brutal

And the winner is

This Grey Heron is landing on a nest site used in the past which failed just before fledging, likely due to crow predation on the unattended nest

You get an idea of the urban setting at Keptie Pond

This is the second bird I saw which didn't interact with the one above, it looks to be a 2nd calendar year bird

One of the two newly arrived Lesser black-backed Gulls, returning after spending the winter in southern Spain, Portugal and north and west Africa

It wasn't just the gulls showing aggression, the resident male Mute Swan took serious umbridge to two young swans which landed in the pond, he chased both out of the water into a corner. I was concerned they'd fly into the railings while trying to escape, but they managed to evade that and ended up scaring some school-kids along the path as they retreated

After getting rid of the swans above and with his hormones running high, he started to chase his single cygnet from last year with more purpose. It's normal to drive off last years young as the time to nest again approaches