I went to visit Hilda and Stanley again on 4th July in their beautiful new home with a lovely garden and private lake. I arrived to find Stanley sitting peacefully on the grass in the sun and Hilda came waddling up to meet me. I sat with them for a while and saw how happy, content and settled they were. No wonder! I had taken them a snack which a group of Canada geese were hoping to join in with but no chance of that with fiesty Hilda keeping them back!

The kind lady who is now caring for them, keeps a close eye on them and feeds them twice a day. She has had a gentle slope dug out in the bank of the lake so Stanley can get in and out of the water but to my surprise, she told me that he can flap his way up the steeper part too!

I’m overjoyed and endlessly grateful that they are having a safe, protected and idyllic life and who knows, they may even breed again next Spring!

Here are some photos that I took with Dave Hoggen’s excellent camera that he kindly lent me – fortunately I didn’t press the wrong button to delete them!

Jo Procter