Luck be a Lady !

I would like to thank the lady who saved one of the cygnets by her common sense actions this morning. Apparently a Lady walking her dog about 9am this morning, saw a hoodie crow holding one of the cygnets by the neck - she shouted and threw a stone towards it and the crow dropped the cygnet which then clambered up the slope to the nest!

I suspect it is the same cygnet that I had to help onto the island yesterday, because it could not get onto the steep island bank. This cygnet may just be inherently weak, or it may have been accidently trodden on by one of the adult swans. Whatever, it deserves the chance to survive and it appears the pen thinks the same. Today having been told that the crows had taken another cygnet and there were only 4 left I was somewhat depressed. This seemed the case when I saw the parents coming up the river into the harbour with only 4 cygnets in tow. Even this afternoon when the pen got off the nest and took the cygnets to the water only 4 were seen swimming and feeding. I was overjoyed when a 5th cygnet popped out of her back and took to the water ! The Pen was obviously nursing the weak cygnet !

I am delighted because yesterday I was obliged to help the weak one onto the island grass bank, watched by the parents who knew I was not a threat.

This morning after consulting with Swan experts down south, I removed the 2 remaining eggs which had been abandoned by the pen early this morning. Sure enough the smell was obvious that these were not going to hatch ! The pen can now get on with the business of rearing the fabulous 5 !

For those of you who have asked "how big is a Swans egg?" The answer is in the photo, a tennis ball lies between the two eggs !