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.