Just swanning about
Swans are beautiful birds, you can find them almost anywhere there is a river. In Layham, we are treated, most years, to at least one pair with a clutch of eggs, and a trail of cygnets in due course. This year being no exception.
Most swans mate for life, with the odd exception. It gives them a higher chance of raising more young than `sleeping around`!
Most of the time we see swans like this. Serenely gliding along ...
Other times looking for lunch! Swans living on fresh water will typically eat pond-weed, stonewort and wigeon grass, as well as tadpoles and insects such as milfoil.
Swans living on salt water will typically eat sea arrow grass, salt marsh grass, eel grass, club rush and green algae, as well as insects and molluscs. It`s best not to feed them bread as the mouldy leftovers can cause them problems.
I have read that this behavior is called `busking`. I am not convinced, as I thought that was when they lowered their head, thrust it forward while raising their wings in an aggressive pose.
I do know that they have a very laboured take off, appearing to run along the water surface.
...but they eventually make it into the air.
This year, a pair built a nest by Layham Mill and some eggs were laid, and covered, and more laid - I am not sure of the eventual total, but possible five.
Then the male disappeared. This is not a problem, as the female is quite capable of incubating and raising her cygnets on her own. And `no` she will not starve in the process. I believe the male will also raise the young successfully too.
So here she is, day after day. No male in sight. Until one morning there was an empty nest and no sign of either swan. The Mill residents told us that she had been attacked by another family (complete with cygnets) who had been nesting further up river previously.
Sad, but that is nature sometimes. Maybe they saw another brood so close, as a threat? Who knows.
The original pair have not been seen since. Just an abandoned nest with eggs.
Same site, but different year. A family raise their cygnets and we were able to watch them grow. This time a happy ending.
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