Cygnet Saved

Having just finished my Chili con carne and glass of red wine, I was obliged to answer a knock at the door. It was a Mr and Mrs Williams, regular river walkers and keen wildlife watchers. They told me that one of the Cygnets appeared to be trapped in the rocks just up from the bailey bridge. I grabbed some gear and headed down to the river accompanied by the Williams.

Apparently the Cob and pen were trying to free the cygnet earlier but failed, and when we got down they had gone into the safety of the harbour with the river high and running in spate.

After a brief search I found the cygnet trapped in a crevice, very weak wet and covered in slime. It was difficult to extract and could not be pulled out without pushing my hand under the rock and pushing the cygnet to the top end, which was just enough to get the body out. It squeaked a few times and was thankfully still alive ! I gave it a quick clean and took it to the harbour where I returned it to the cob and pen. The cob hissed a little, and the pen could barely believe the cygnet had returned. The cygnet tried unsuccessfully to get onto the pens back and raised it's head to the pen in recognition - then they all headed for the sheltered north side of the harbour.

Tonight I returned to see how the cygnet was doing and am pleased to report that it has nearly dried off and was heartily eating grass and wholemeal bread !

Enclosed pics of rock crevice, the reunion in the harbour, and tonights pic showing the drying off cygnet. I Did not have the presence of mind to take a pic of the trapped cygnet - too busy trying to get it out quickly.

My Thanks to Mr and Mrs Williams for having the presence of mind coming to my house, their prompt action undoubtedly help save the life of the cygnet today.

Footnote: I was told by a regular harbour user that a Black back gull was the killer of the last cygnet in the harbour.