Cygnets In a Flap
The Cygnets were in a playful mood yesterday, and decided to give themselves some vigorous flapping exercise.
The powerful force generated by the huge feet and wings are shown in the photos.
These birds do literally walk and run on water !
Our cygnets who were 120 days old yesterday, on the Sankey Canal at Wargrave have been enjoying training flights over the last few days. The sunny conditions with a light breeze were perfect for heading into the wind and getting lift off for a few feet. I have witnessed them do 5 separate attempts. They have taken off in both directions depending on the direction of the wind. So clever! The lead cygnet instigates the flapping of wings and the other five cygnets follow suit, with mum joining in too. The cob has a sore leg still and his wing feathers are not yet fully regrown so he has to watch them. The smallest of the six cygnets has made it clear of the water only once so far. The other cygnet who was cured of angel wing and is on the lower pound of the disused canal, is wing stretching but as yet has not had a go at running on the water. He will learn to fly, won't he, Joe? His instincts will kick in soon and he will attempt lift off?
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, Nice to see your swan family flight training. This is the optimum month for the initial training sessions here too. Your cygnet that had angel wing might be a bit behind because of it. However it should start wing flapping and exercising especially if he sees the others doing it. I am pretty sure he will, just a matter of time.
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