Swannery

We went with Nan and Pop to the Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset one day during the second week of our trip. It's an ancient managed colony of the birds, on a lagoon just off the southern coast.
Here, Nan and Cora took the tractor ride from the visitors center and entrance to the actual swannery.

I like that photo - let's see it up close.

The tourist attraction also features a willow, or withy, maze in the shape of a swan, with a big willow egg in the center. We had fun finding butterflies, dead ends and feathers on our way to the egg. Above, Pop and Cora figure out which way we should go next.
Cora loved being our leader, and always needed to be in the lead. She was a bit disappointed to find that the egg was made of withies, though - she was expecting a real egg, I think.

After the maze, we made our way out to the swans. There were hundreds of them, along with other assorted water fowl.
Watching the swans take flight was funny. They have to run along the water, slap, slap, slap, before getting enough lift to get up in the air. Then, they only flew a short distance before landing again. It seemed like an awful lot of effort, and that swimming would be easier.
We were there for feeding time, and children are allowed to help. Cora enjoyed feeding the swans, but she didn't like them coming near her. She amused the crowd behind the fence by moving her bucket of food every time a swan approached it.

Thanks, JT, for the suggestion on a great day out! We'll have to head back out in May when the babies hatch.