Monday 27 July 2015

Ten cygnets!

Exeter Ship canal, 25th July 2015
It’s Dave’s birthday, so this afternoon we went for a drink at the Turf, the pub at the end of the universe Exeter Ship Canal.

On the way we saw this female swan with ten cygnets.  We’ve never seen this many in one family before.  The RSPB says the average number of eggs is 4, but  the Swan Sanctuary says the maximum hatched is 10.

10 cygnets 1

As the pen was in charge, where was the cob?   A few hundred yards away, defending his patch.  On a sunny weekend afternoon, there were others using the canal too.

10 cygnets 2

She started to get a bit fed up with all the attention -

10 cygnets 3

and eventually she sent the cygnets off to the far bank while she watched the kayakers out of sight. The cygnets all went off in a group and waited together on the far side - I wonder how they knew what she wanted? 

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