an other garden no.26/part two: follow up, nesting swan, goal river

Stories and Histories

Previously I photographed this swan couples nest and seven eggs and I recently went back to check up on them and found that sadly, four weeks after the cygnets hatched, only one remains. Like other species that give birth to several young together, they are vulnerable to many predators. In this area new born cygnets are most likely lost to crows, herons, magpies or pike. The other worrying thing I noticed is that only one member of the swan couple was anywhere to be seen which could explain the loss of so many of their young. Swans mate for life, raising their young together, normally one parent will always be on guard. They also often travel in line with one parent at the back, the other in front, thus the absence of one of the partners suggests they met an untimely death, perhaps in an attempt to protect their young.