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After 4 weeks TLC with the River Nairn Swans and Waterfowl Trust, Solo our lonely Cygnet has now moved on, courtesy of the Scottish SPCA.
Today one of the Local SPCA Inspectors took Solo to their Inverness depot where she will be transferred to Fishcross wildlife centre for integration with other Cygnets.
I will miss Solo for she was a gentle cygnet but badly in need of other swan company, in fact she was beginning to view me as a close companion, and actually entered the house today for a quick look around !
Swans instinctively seek the company of other swans for they have a gregarious nature, except when they pair up, then they are highly territorial. Solo has fully recovered from her leg injury and should be able to take off when the time comes.
It would have been nice if our Nairn Swans would have accepted her, but Popeye and Penny will be chasing their offspring soon. A few pics of solo today, and take note of the last pic where Millie my dog does not even get off the couch when solo was in the living room !
High Tide brought High Drama on the river today when two swans and a cygnet turned up close to the Swans island.
Popeye and Penny were not amused and proceeded to chase them around with the intention of making them leave ! I have a strong suspicion that they might well be Solo's parents and sibling, the cygnet looks exactly the same age as Solo,
and it's not often you see a pair with only one cygnet in tow.
Solo is now ready to be released and is no longer limping, I was about to run home to bring her down to the river when the intruders were chased off, leaving the poor cygnet on it's own.
They headed over towards lochloy direction, I think the intruders thought this was a flock and decided to leave theirs to join our eight. Needless to say popeye and Penny were having none of it, and chased the cygnet up river then back down again towards the sea.
Tomorrow I will release Solo back to the estuary, the tides are suitable this week to find seaweed feeding at low tide, and the possibility that it will meet up with either it's siblings or parents.
After 10 days of TLC, Solo is in good health and should be strong enough to meet up with other cygnets somewhere along the coast.
