It's the start of swan nesting season in Bushy Park - and local photographers have taken note!

The photos in the gallery above are by Lesley Marshall, who spotted a pair of friendly nesting swans earlier this week.

And on Instagram, you can see Teddington resident Sue Lindenberg's incredible video of a swan and her two eggs in the park just before sunrise.

Sue's account also has her video of a pair of swans building their nest, taken last Saturday - and we're sure she'll be posting more soon.

As the swans are attracting quite a bit of attention, I thought I'd take a deeper look at what happens during the breeding period of Bushy Park's iconic bird.

According to the RSPB, mute swans (the kind seen in Bushy Park) normally lay seven eggs between late April and early May.

This suggests that any eggs already spotted have been laid earlier than usual, which would be in keeping with the trend started by the Woodland Gardens goslings born around Christmas last year.

Before breeding begins, swans pair up and tend to mate for life although there are always exceptions to the rule.

The birds also share some of the labour involved in the nesting process. Both play a role in nest-building; the male supplies materials and the female uses them to construct the nest.

Swan pairs also both incubate their eggs until the cygnets are hatched, usually between 35 to 41 days after incubation starts.

There are also interesting rules about what the public are allowed to do in relation to swan nests.

Swan Lifeline states that it is illegal to interfere with a swan's nest in any way unless by a recognised group acting in the best interest of a sick or injured bird.

And the Swan Sanctuary explains that if swan nests are in danger from natural events like flooding, they must be left alone for the swans to learn from the experience.

However, the organisation also says that in cases where nests are vulnerable because of human factors, such as being near a busy towpath, then the local council can put up protective fencing around it.

Want to read more? Here are the links for websites listed in the article: the Mute Swan RSPB page , Swan Lifeline and The Swan Sanctuary .