In Abingdon, a swan family has been growing up this year. They travel between the River Thames above Abingdon Weir and along the Mill Stream by the Abbey Meadows.

At first there were two adults with eight cygnets. Then the family became one adult with seven, and now just six remain, guarded by the lone parent.

One cygnet has gone its own way, and can often be seen from Wilsham Reach and St Helen’s Wharf.

But life, apart from the family, is not easy. A gang of adolescent swans now dominates that stretch of the Thames. In past years an adult ruled there with its family, chasing off rivals. This year the younger birds have taken charge, and the solitary cygnet is seen off whenever it ventures where they want to go, like the slipway where they like to preen.

Walking beside the Mill Stream, which flows from the weir near the Abbey Grounds, I spotted a swan family.

There was also a parent moorhen with two young. They have grown a lot since the last time I saw them. There is so much undergrowth on the river that the others may or may not have been about.

I also saw what looked like a small fire and thought somebody was camping.

A heron was waiting for fish at the weir. The weir walkway is still closed because of safety concerns.

On the way back, I saw the fire had grown much larger. A couple had stopped to watch, and on the far bank, three or four people were actively gathering wood and throwing it onto the flames. The surrounding vegetation was dry and looked ready to catch fire, posing a real risk to nearby trees and wildlife.

We shouted at them to stop, but they ignored us and carried on. The lady called the emergency services, and we made our way around via the bridge to try to locate the fire. It was clearly visible from the Snakes and Ladders car park, and was still burning between Protyre and the Mill Stream — but access was blocked by a fence.

As we reached the fence, the people responsible ran off, and then the fire brigade arrived. The firefighters knew of another way in and drove round to reach the fire from there.

Nick sent me photos of a tree in Abbey Meadow, near the children’s play area, that has been stripped of its leaves by caterpillars. It is the only tree that has been attacked.

Silken sheets are visible between twigs, with many caterpillars living inside. They leave their protective tents to feed and return afterward.

The trees trunks are also surrounded in silk. Here is one caterpillar outside the silk, and inside — near the trunk — a pupa within its cocoon.