Some old photographs and footage of mink attacking cygnet

I've been away for a few days and therefore have no up to date news and photographs but here are some older images and some unusual footage of a mink biting a cygnet.

Red deer having a mad moment

I was watching some deer towards the end of the day last winter and after they had crossed a stream in the park they started to get frisky and playful. One of them began bucking and leaping around and another covered its antlers and head with dead bracken, They reminded me of cats when they have mad moments and chase their tails or climb furniture.

This heron caught my attention as it appeared to be taking a bow

Mute swans fighting over territorial rights

These two swans battled for supremacy for at least 10 minutes until one of them was vanquished. The victor tried to drown its opponent but eventually contented itself with following the exhausted opponent onto the river bank and standing on top of him. We thought the other swan must be dead but it remained supine for at least five minutes after the other swan had swam off with its mate and then slowly struggled further up the bank and started to preen its damaged feathers.

An early morning rower

One of the joys of living here is sitting in the comfort of my own home while being able to watch river life from our lounge and dining areas. This is a view downstream through our patio windows.

This is the rare footage of an American mink attacking a cygnet outside our house. This particular mink stayed in the area for over a year and became very used to us. They are incredibly bold creatures. He killed many waterfowl during the time he was here but I was able to save some ducks. If I heard him attacking a duck (he used to drag them underwater outside our door) I would grab the duck by its feet and start to pull it back up and the mink would immediately let go. He would then look at me reproachfully and I suppose, in reality, I was saving one duck but causing another to die a little later on.

The BBC Natural History Unit saw this clip and thought it was a set up but it was one of the many attacks we saw this, and subsequent minks make on the local wildfowl and fish!