In the Friday morning sunlight, a winged form dipped from the sky, the image morphing into a young Great Blue Heron – one with an appetite, judging from his determined gait as he waded though the water, scanning the surface. Ah, success! He quickly snapped up two little fish and decided to stake his claim in the very corner favoured by Precious, Marlika and their cygnet Junior. The parent swans ignored their freeloading visitor, but Junior, who had been enjoying himself out in the lagoon, headed over at maximum pedal-power. This called for closer investigation!

He arrived back on shore, took up his post close by, and the two young birds spent the next 10 minutes gazing at each other, until the call of food was too strong, and the heron ducked for yet another tasty fish while Junior practiced his “swan-dive” for the gourmet goodies growing deep in the lagoon.