I say 'My Swans' but of course they belong to no-one, just legally The Queen. I have mentioned seeing them most days for the past 17 years, although that is a struggle for me now, but that applied mainly to the Cob, who has to be at least 21 yrs old. His original mate died around 6 years ago, which upset me greatly and he wouldn't leave her side until she gradually disappeared. He still stayed on his pond, protecting it as his territory, then one day, a pair of younger swans' appeared looking to set up home, the Pen was maybe 3yrs old. Well, he was having none of that and drove away the male whilst the female watched and then remained with 'my Cob' after her original partner had been defeated and flown off. The next day, they were together as a pair and the following year had their first brood of Cygnets and have done so yearly since.
Swans' are amazing parents, for example, even when hungry themselves, they will let the babies take it all and they are stupidly brave when protecting the little ones. He, the cob, introduced his new mate to me showing her that he trusts me and they always briefly bring their new Cygnets to see me and then back nestwise again...it's amazing and I feel honoured. It has cost a small fortune over the years in wheat, mixed seeds and wholemeal bread, (white bread is not good for them) but it has given me so much pleasure and it's still worth the tiring struggle to see them. Other regular birds of course get to know, Moorhens, Coots, Tufted ducks and naturally Mallards, also one Robin without fail every winter only. I give a special whistle as I approach and they all appear.
I can only load the one photo so this one is their home.....
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Johnem
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A kindred spirit, another "birdman" who can call to wild birds to themselves. Congratulations on having the demeanour to be able to communicate with them, it is most rewarding
What an amazing story. That me smile. It is so beautiful to have a close connection to animals. I only knew that swans belong to the queen a few years ago, when I was reading an article about swan upping. Thank you so much for sharing.
Fascinating. Can we have another message with a close-up photo showing what type of swan they are please? A lake near me is the home of hundreds making it impossible to make friends with just one.
Hi Don. They are Mute Swans and once they mate they develop their own territory and won't tolerate other Swans or even geese on it. If on a large lake, they will usually occupy a certain stretch of it and protect that. The unattached and youngsters will happily live in colonies until they pair up...then the hard search for their own place begins.
I will try another message with the title The Swan's New Family This Year.
Incidentally, mating Swans get rid of their youngsters yearly when they are 6 - 9 months old in preparation for a new family, usually they will try to fly them to the nearest Colony of swans or stretch of water that has other youngsters on it.
As a long standing member of WWT these are things that I should already know. Perhaps I did at one time.
Thanks Fran. Mute Swans tend to stay on their chosen water and don't normally migrate to warmer unless from the Baltic. I have seen 'my two' living Just in a small patch of water no more than 5m x 5m when the rest of the pond, which is approx the size of 2 football pitches, is frozen solid enough to walk upon. When I was fitter, I used to take a hammer to break the ice near me so that they could walk over to feed and drink.
Your post gave me so much pleasure this morning Johnem. Thank you for telling us about your swans. Keep well so that you can keep watching ! Thank you again, Sheila xx
Thank you for your wonderful story - so beautiful & uplifting in these crazy times. You put a big lump in my throat! I, too, feed the birds, squirrels, rabbits & even a rat that live in my yard. Since I’m not raising kids anymore, I don’t mind spending money on seed, peanuts & suet to feed them. It’s such a pleasure to watch them all year long, but with the snow in winter it gets a little tough digging paths to the feeders. Good exercise, though! Please keep us up-to-date on your beautiful swans - I never knew that they had such a long lifespan. Cheers!
Such pleasure is to be had from watching them. It can be very upsetting when the young disappear to Pike and invading Gulls which know the Swans are nesting each year, the parents have no answer to aerial attack on their babies, but if the Cygnets make it to 3 weeks, they have a good chance.
Mute Swans can often live for up to 30 yrs. This particular pond is very large, but is not particularly good for natural food, so the Cob is extra aggressive towards any others that land. I have seen him take on and win against up to six others that have tried, pretty tiring stuff. They are very fierce in protection of their young and their mate, yet he is very gentle with me and seems to bob his head when approaching.
I,m a few days behind everybody else as not had my laptop on for the last 5 days so catching up now.The story and the photo are lovely, swans are such stunning birds. Near here is a small town called Dawlish and they have black swans that live in the brook so you can get quite close to them and every time i see them and the cygnets i can,t help but end up with the biggest smile on my face so beautiful.
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