Overwintering

It looks like our remaining 7 cygnets will be overwintering in the river . If the parents were going to chase them off they would have done it before now, and are probably repeating the successful pattern of the last two years by keeping them until January. There is method in the madness, because keeping them will deter any other adult pair from trying to steal the territory. Trying to drive out 9 swans cannot be done easily by incomers, and our pair have realised that safety in numbers ensures survival success. Just means more expense for me providing food over the winter, but as the short video shows, all the river wildlife are thriving on it !