Monday, 8 February 2010

Close Encounters !

This afternoon might be the last day all the Nairn cygnets were together. At around 3.30pm seven of the eight cygnets flew down the river into a bracing northerly wind, they circled around the bay and caravan site and had a near mid air disaster coming back towards the river.

Their inexperience showed when the tail wind brought two of them close enough to strike wings.

I did not notice at the time, but when I put the photos on the computer you can clearly see the lead cygnets outer flight feathers bent and almost broken !

The photos show only six of the seven because the zoom could not get them all into the shot.

I watched as the 7 cygnets circled even wider and headed off towards the west beach, I managed to get a bit of video before they disappeared. (See vid below)

When I walked back up the river I saw the runt of the family alone beside the island, the parents were at the harbour entrance stopping any entries !

It will be interesting to see if they return tomorrow, the seas are rough and the weather is still cold. I feel sorry for the runt, because swans are gregarious creatures and it will be sad if it has been left behind.







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