Just as the gander is about to lunge at the male gull, he is distracted by a passing mute swan.

Whooper swan Almost as large as our resident mute swan, the whooper swan has a V-shaped yellow mark on its bill.

On Thursday, Scotland's chief veterinary officer Charles Milne said a mute swan found in Cellardyke harbour in eastern Scotland had died from the virus.

I walk along the Royal Canal most days, and lately I was shocked to see a dead adult mute swan with its neck missing.

There are also three nesting pairs of mute swans, a heron and waterhens.