Swans have been in the news lately after one was rescued by the Fire Brigade on Hogganfield Loch. Apparently after that the RSPCA received loads of calls from the public about swans stuck on the ice but they say that most are perfectly strong enough to break thin ice and fend for themselves. This morning a couple had phoned about our resident pond cygnet which I’ve been watching over the last couple of weeks. They passed me on my walk and told me it was stuck by the old boat sheds. So I went to investigate and it was having us on. It was walking about fine when I got there. It’s often with the two adult swans and another cygnet but likes its independence.
People have been going and feeding it, not just bread crusts but also bird seed and corn which are better for it. It knows it’s onto a good thing!
I’ve been a few times to the frozen pond and have watched the swans tottering about on the ice. When the ice was thin and transparent it looked like they were walking on water! Although the slides gave the game away a bit…
Here is a rather dark photograph which shows the family group all flying off the frozen pond together.
However one of the cygnets likes to come back and be on its own. I liked how one person I met today described it as “the stroppy teenager”. Here it is again, soaking up the last of the short day’s sunshine.
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 