Swan update

Following up on my previous post about the missing swans.  A local blogger called Ben posted a story about the swans last week which you can read here: Cwmbran Life.   Today I went to see the swans in their new home at Cwmbran Boating Lake, and they seem to be very happy there with more people around to feed them bread.  Not sure it is very good for them but according  to Ben's blog someone mentioned they thought they didn't have enough food in the smaller lake.

One very bold cygnet posing for a photo. 

Mum preening while the cygnets relax by the lake

 

A juvenile seagull waiting for a chance to pounce on the bread being thrown for the cygnets

 

Dad looking for food in the water surrounded by ducks

Mum doesn't look any the worse after her injury and has been tagged with a lovely pink band

 Mum became a bit aggressive and was hissing at us. 

 

The cygnets are almost as large as their parents now

Think I managed to get all 8 cygnets on this photo. 

One last picture of dad foraging in the lake., 

Just hope they stay safe now and people keep their dogs on leads to prevent any further injuries

Miss Marple Investigates

Well not exactly Miss Marple but Mrs Sheila.  Two things have been on my mind just lately.  The first being that a few weeks ago I saw 2 men wearing wet suits in the small lake near where I live.  Then as I have driven past the lake since then I have seen a row of strange looking whitish objects in the water.  Today I decided to stop and see if I could find out what they are.   When I came close I saw that they are 2 litre plastic drinking bottle floating upside down and obviously attached to something so they won't float away. There was a row on them on each side of the lake.

 The mystery was soon solved.  It will look lovely with waterlilies growing in 

 The other thing that I have been puzzling about is the whereabouts of the swans and their 8 cygnets. The picture below was taken last month on the lake.

A few days ago I was driving down toward the lake on my way home from town when I noticed  what appeared to be a holdup of the traffic coming from the opposite direction.  When I came closer it was caused by the family of swans walking up the road in the middle of the left hand lane.  They looked so funny and ungainly walking, nothing like as graceful as they look in the water.  I couldn't stop to take any photos as the traffic coming the opposite was was waiting for the cars to pass by so they could overtake the procession.  I had been a bit concerned about them since then so today my second reason for visiting the lake was to see if they were back there.  They were nowhere to be seen.  All that was there was an assortment of funny looking ducks, which I believe are mallard hybrids.

When I saw the swans on their travels they were walking in the direction of the bigger boating lake which is about a mile away.  I drove there to see if they had arrived there but still no sign of them.  I can't imagine where they have gone to.  I don't think the cygnets were yet able to fly.  They will be missed as they had become quite a popular attraction and people were always stopping their cars to watch them or let their children feed them.  I liked to stop and see how they were progressing and of course to take photos of them.  Maybe the parents have taken them somewhere else as the lake was not big enough for all of them and they might come back again themselves. 

While I was at the lake I took a few more photos. 

 

Gatekeeper butterfly

Painted Lady

 Speckled Wood

Bee on brambles

Soon be blackberry time!

Back home and the lovely scent of my lilies hit me as soon as I opened the car door.  They have been in these pots for about 4 or 5 years now I think. I am surprised they do so well each year.  Suppose I ought to think about re-potting them. 

Octuplets

When I last visited the pair of swans on the local lake on 16th April this year I was lucky to catch mum stretching her legs away from her nest.  This gave me a lovely view of her 5 large white eggs.  

I hadn't visited since then as every times I drove past I could see her sitting on the nest so presumed she was still incubation the eggs.  Last week I was away for a few days and when I drove past this last Wednesday there was no sign of her or her partner so I stopped to investigate.  They had moved the few yards up to the other lake which is hidden from the road and she was relaxing in the afternoon sun on the side of the lake with her new family and the proud Dad was in the water nearby.  I was surprised to see that she has 8 cygnets.  She must have laid more eggs since my last visit.  They usually lay between 4 and 7 so this year she has done remarkably well.  I hope they all survive as last year out of the 5 they had only 3 survived through the winter, or so I thought!   The swans are very popular and there are always people visiting them.On this day a woman there told me she heard that 2 of last years cygnets had fishing hooks caught up in them and were taken away to have them removed. She also said they don't tend to return them to the parents when this happens. So I don't know where they went. Just hope they did survive. 

According to the woman I spoke to they hatched about 2 weeks ago so are no longer tiny and seem to be growing well.

Hopefully next time I visit they will be swimming so I can see them better.

Swan update

Visited the lake today to see the swans.  They grow so fast.  There were some people there feeding them bread and there was a frenzy of activity among the birds to try and grab the food.  The family of coots are still there, 2 adults and 2 cootlets, and up to maybe 30 ducks and ducklings as well as the swans and their 5 cygnets.  The cygnets are starting to look a bit scruffy now as they are losing their downy feathers.  One was very bold and came right out of the water for bread. He was very ungainly trying to walk but he did get there.