Above. Affectionately known as 'General Custard,' Ross-on-Wye's yellow Mute Swan, Cygnus timidus has returned again in 2005 and has been recently spotted on the River Wye. I took this photograph from the Rope Walk, a little up stream of the Hope & Anchor public house. Being a regular visitor to the Hope & Anchor, The General likes to take scraps of food, by hand from diners in the beer garden. It is not known why he is bright yellow. A theory has been put forward however that this is due to earlier generations of local Mute Swans feeding from experimental genetically modified rape seed.

Below. Following on from last week's report on the frog spawn in my natural garden pond, the first collection of tadpoles finally hatched last Tuesday, 22nd March. The photograph below was taken yesterday morning, Easter Holiday Monday.