A remarkable sight at Chasewater – taken at 11:02am, Wednesday 17th September 2014. Image very kindly sent in for the Swan Lady by Dawn Hodges-Adcock.

There has been huge interest in the post I published last week on the subject of the rare and rather beautiful black swan spotted at Chasewater last Wednesday by The Swan Lady, Irene Hodges.

Irene and her husband spend a whole lot of time (and very probably cash, too) feeding the swans and waterfowl at Chasewater, keeping an eye on them in general and monitoring their wellbeing.

The Swan Lady – Irene and her husband – feed the swans during the heavy snows of late March, 2013. They were incredibly pleased to see their champions!

Irene, since getting that wonderful photo to me, has also sent a videoclip of the bird too – it’s fascinating. If anyone else has photos or footage of this very rare occurrence, or happens to know if the bird is still around, please do comment or mail me.

Very few Chasewater stories have garnered as much traffic as this one – and folk keep mailing me for information! If I get anything more, I’ll post it up.

It’s worth reading up on Black Swans – they’re native to the Antipodes but there were less than 50 feral birds in the UK in 2004.

Thanks to all involved – and especially The Swan Lady herself, for doing such wonderful and selfless work out of the kindness of her heart. Cheers, Irene!