THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE —  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

THE NORTH END SWAN

Copyright Valerie Martin 2010

Published in Sussex Local in March 2010

It all happened on a hot day some years ago.  The unusual whooshing and rustle of a swan's beating wings was heard as it flew low over the North End area of Findon.   I say unusual because Findon is a waterless village without a meandering river or rippling pond of any size larger than the domestic garden variety.  

North End straddles the A24 main road and on that particular late afternoon there was a strange mirage effect or lingering hazy visibility on the A24 road.   The optical illusion may have induced the swan to mistake the shining ribbon below as an aquatic delight.   It made the wrong decision and instead of its wings gliding towards rippling water, it made a slow controlled landing right in the middle of the dual carriageway.   

The traffic came to an abrupt halt.    The shocked bird was unhurt and danced a few tentative steps on the highway and no one dare approach as it hissed fiercely at vehicles encountered in its path.  

 Pam and John Stepney lived in North End House on the west of the A24 and Pam says that at the time they were in their garden and heard the noise and wondered what had caused the commotion.  

Before anyone was hurt, John Stepney bravely strode across the road and grabbed hold of the swan under his arm and held its beak firmly.    One might almost have visualised that he could have easily been a fearless swan herd in a former life.

What does one do with a captured swan in the waterless Findon landscape?     Pam and John decided to temporarily house their visitor in a vacated aviary in the garden before deciding on their next plan of action.   The bird appeared to be exhausted.  Pam says that she remembers offering their newly acquired charge some chicken corn but she doesn't think it accepted any to eat.

When darkness fell, John, together with Pam's father, securely wrapped the swan in a sack.   Its graceful head poked out of the top in a most undignified manner.    They loaded it in the car and drove over the Long Furlong road to the nearby Patching Pond.  

All was quiet at the water's edge at night.   The two men unloaded their captive and it grateful accepted freedom.    It slid peacefully and silently into the glistening water with only the slightest splash.  Their hope was that it might settle on the pond for the night.   The area could even become its permanent home if it decided it was the right location.    The swan swiftly glided over the pond and its shadowy form disappeared into the darkness beyond.   Mission accomplished.

After hearing the story, Doug Attrell of Goring by Sea said "John has my respect. Not sure I would have the courage to approach a frightened swan."  I echo that too.

In the spring of 2009 there was only one resident swan on Patching Pond and I am told he was of the grumpy variety and spent some five hours clearing the water of a flock of intruding Canada Geese daring to infiltrate his domain.

Doug was fortunate enough to encounter the Pond Manager who related the story of the lone swan.    About four years ago there was a pair of swans with cygnets on the pond but the pen was unfortunately killed on the A27.    Doug learned that shortly after the demise of his female, the cob flew into a barbed wire fence and broke a wing.    Someone (unknown) took him away and the injured wing was amputated.    Instead of returning him to Patching Pond, he was set loose on the river with other swans.

The orphaned cygnets left on Patching Pond were by this time quite large and able to fend for themselves and four survived after being orphaned.    Eventually, three flew to waters new and for some reason left the remaining one standing guard over Patching Pond to this day.

A lone female swan did decide to try her luck landing on the pond in the spring of 2009 but the resident cob was not impressed by her presence and most ungallant and soon rather unceremoniously chased her away .  

Earlier in the spring he had been seen harassing a pair of Indian Runners attempting to take up residence on his stretch of water.  

Photographed at Patching Pond 2009 by Doug Attrell

Click to enlarge all pictures

A couple of teals also tried their luck at residency but all disappeared in time.   It is thought that the easily irritated swan had killed one of the teals.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes built a nest on the water's edge and laid eggs which later successfully hatched and one was seen swimming happily along with its parents..

Photographed at Patching Pond 2009 by Doug Attrell

The Pond Manager visits Patching Pond every day and has four bailiffs to assist him with his tasks.   The anglers frequenting the area, apparently spent a whole month clearing the area of rubbish (voluntarily) and have also undertaken an amount of maintenance work and it is thanks to them all that the pond looks as it does today.  

Apparently, the swan who was just a wee bit bad tempered, really turned nasty and after chatting up a very nice young man (angler) I discovered that the swan had been out in the roadway and chasing people. He was very nearly run over a number of times by cars leaving the Worlds End public house.

This resulted in WADARs coming to collect him at the beginning of May 2009 for re-housing.... end of story.  

One evening in May 2009 I saw a very large Red Eared Turtle was basking on a log on the right hand side of the pond. I had not seen it before.     From what I remember from my research of a few years back (my memory isn't that brilliant)...... they are not very nice creatures to have around. They are foreigners to our country.....comparative newcomers.....that people buy and keep these days until they get too big.... and then they chuck them into ponds and rivers where they manage to survive and have no predators and intimidate the local wildlife.   So the latest visitor to Patching Pond was not all that welcome either.

January 2010 brought more than its normal quota of snow and ice.....

Nothing was left but a bit of ice skating as this Indian Runner demonstrated on Patching Pond.

Continue to read......"We don't do that sort of thing in North End!"  — North End Cottages

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.