Momentous Year

 This has been an unforgettable year, not only for the Pandemic lockdowns starting in March, but also in the same month, the departure of Penny and Duke, and the arrival of Sue and Slim. 

Penny who occupied the river for 13 years and hatched 70 cygnets, departed on the 8th March never to return. She will be 20 years old this year and I think she basically retired, knowing that nest building laying and hatching, was for one of her offspring now. 

Was only 11 days after the 8th when a young new pair of swans turned up for a scouting recon of the river and nest site. This was Sue, one of Penny's daughters from 2016, she remembered me and the place of her birth. Her mate Slim was very wary and kept his distance from me, proving he was not reared on the river and therefore not related to Sue. My guess is that Sue might well have been literally given the nod by her Mother Penny, to occupy the Nairn River territory as they turned up when I expected Penny to return to nest.

Late March into April, Sue and Slim set about refreshing the nest, bonding and mating in their new home territory. 

The Trust gave support to their endeavours, with provision of additional nesting material and  daily food supplies nearby.

 The scene was set for a continuation of the Nairn Swans Dynasty ! All was well, egg laying for a week until another pair tried to take over, most likely one of Penny's offspring from an even earlier time seeking a home nest site. A tense battle and standoff ensued for a whole day, with Slim and Sue holding onto their prize site.

 However the crises stopped Sue from laying any further eggs, and she started to incubate the 4 eggs in the nest. 

The rest is history, and can be seen in the previous blog posts for the year. Sadly one of the cygnets died within a couple of weeks, it may well have been injured and stopped eating. 

During May, Duke returned alone and was attacked by Slim. He retreated to the harbour and was underweight and had several injuries. I had him taken to the Vet and it was decided that he had underlying health issues and was put to sleep. All in all it has been a successful year for the new Nairn Swans and they are currently still here as the top photo shows. I think Sue will prove to be just as prolific a Mother as Penny, and will give all of us a great deal of joy in the coming years. 

The Trust believes in Nurturing Nature, something we should not take for granted. As the so called most intelligent species, we have a duty to care for all others. 

The Trust wish all our members and viewers, a Happy new year and many more scenes like this.