Introduction - June 7th, 2010

Having lived near to Hedgecourt Lake for a number of years I have been privileged to watch the annual arrival of new broods of cygnets, their progress throughout their first 6 months and then the somewhat upsetting period while they’re being driven away by their parents.

I felt that this year I would catalogue the development of a brood (if one appeared), from their first appearance until their forced expulsion. It is my intention to post a weekly summary with photographs using this log. I hope you will join me on this journey, for what I expect to be a wonderful experience.

For the past 19 years at least, there has only been one resident pair of mature swans on the lake. They have faithfully produced a new brood each year, sometimes as few as three young up to an amazing eight.

The couple always defended their position on the lake with some level of ferocity. Woe betide an unsuspecting wandering swan landing on the lake thinking it had found the potential for a new home. No so!  Along would come the pair and systemically drive all interlopers off the lake pretty quickly, and without too much finesse!.

Disaster struck last year when the female of the resident pair was run down by a motorist as she was moving along the edge of the lake on the road. Sadly she died from the injuries sustained and the cob became a forlorn sight aimlessly wandering around obviously looking for his mate. To make matters worse, he had a brood of five cygnets to bring up, which he did magnificently, single handed.

After he had driven the brood away in November last year, we saw a succession of young female swans come onto the lake, and we all held our breath, hoping he would chose a new mate. Not to be. The old cob has simply disappeared from the scene, and we have no idea where he is now.

Another pair almost immediately took up residence and there were high hopes that they would continue the age old tradition of producing a new brood. There was little overt action taken by either when it came to making nests etc and a couple of months ago we thought that this year it wasn’t going to happen. Meanwhile, up the other end of the lake (sailing club end) there suddenly appeared a small number of other swans. At first the two resident swans tried to get rid of their unwelcome guests but they eventually gave up. We believe it could be last year’s brood that have come back mob handed!

As time moved on and we got into May, we noticed that the resident female swan was absent from the lake and it was anticipated that she was busy ‘sitting’, although we didn’t know where. Meanwhile, at the other end of the lake, the others seemed to be doing likewise.

As the hatch date became imminent the cob became more and more focused on patrolling along the edge of the reed bed opposite the spillway. Anything that came close to where the nest was obviously positioned resulted in him going into an aggressive stance with raised wings and an immediate increase in speed across the water to fend off unwelcome visitors. Canada geese were certainly not welcome at this time!

You can always tell summer is here when you see that first introduction by the female swan of her new brood to the wide world. In our case, this happened last Friday, 4^th June 2010.

Bearing in mind this will be their first year on this lake, it came as a surprise to see that they had used the same area of reeds to build their nest as the previous long term resident pair.

The female cautiously emerged from the reed bed with her new clutch of seven young. A truly wondrous sight.

At first, she is very alert to what is around her, constantly scanning the water in all directions. The cob is close by. She keeps the brood by her side and offers protection from the road side edge of the lake. Very quickly the female starts her feeding ritual. This consists of paddling furiously whilst standing still. This agitates the lake bed and flushes food stuffs up to the surface. The cygnets immediately latch on to what is happening (maybe mum tells them!) and are soon enjoying their first meal. The female then suddenly bobs down putting her neck and head under water leaving her bottom in the air which enables her to agitate the lake bed to gain more food for the cygnets.

Those first few forays out from the nest are short in duration and always within easy reach of the entrance into the reed bed where the nest is located. After a short feeding spell, she gently guides her brood back into the reed bed and suddenly disappears out of sight.

As each day passes, the female spends more and more time out on the lake with the cygnets and they start to move further way from the reeds, but will not come across to the road side edge of the lake despite the temptation of bread being thrown by visitors. If Canada geese come anywhere near the family, the cob is immediately on the scene, wings aloft and looking very menacing.

A close neighbour to the new family is the resident heron. He floats by seeking out his prey, but doesn’t seem to disturb the swans. Even the many young ducklings that are now bobbing about on the lake seem to be able to move quite close to the new family without causing the cob concern.

Slight concern! - June 8th, 2010

The cob has been seen sitting on the road edge away from the reeds looking very bedraggled. His wings are in a mess and he is showing no interest in the new family. It is at this time the female needs him to be giving added protection against unwanted visitors. It is not unheard of for other swans to attack and drown the young. The Swan sanctuary people have been alerted and have promised to attend, to ensure all is well with the cob.

Good News - June 10th, 2010  

Good news about the cob. Having been given the once over by the Swan Sanctuary people, it was established that the 'old man' was simply molting. What came as a big surprise is the fact that the cob seems to be the old cob which everyone thought had simply disappeared off the plot. That would account for the female nesting in the old location. 

On a sad note, this morning, 10th June, it was noticed that one of the cygnets has been lost. We are now down to six. However, the remainder seem to be doing alright and mum has now taken to moving them right across the lower part of the lake, feeding and generally orientating them to their surroundings. The cob is now always in close proximity and is doing what is expected of him, that of affording protection. He was constantly pushing the Canada geese away when they got too close.

At one point the female brought the brood up onto the hard but was quick to act in defence when an unwelcomed dog approached.

Having safely got them all back onto the water she then allowed several to hitch a lift back to the nest. Such a tiring morning!

Cygnet Protection - June 17th, 2010

The past week has seen further steps being taken by the female swan to get her brood further afield from the area of the nest. They now cover most of the lower half of the lake  towards the weir end, feeding and getting used to humans attempting to feed them. The cob is never far away from them and now looks in much better condition.

What is noticeable is that the groups of swans at the far end are gradually moving down towards the weir, feeding. This has caused immediate reaction from both parents of our  brood to take aggressive action against the intruders. In turn some of those swans have acted aggressively towards our brood. The photograph shows one such 'attack'. What is interesting is that mum joins in the  counter attack and takes the brood with her, sometimes with the young sitting on her.

No other losses to the number in our brood have occurred so whatever caused last week's loss has not returned.

Loss of a Cygnet - June 21st, 2o10

Disaster has struck again with our brood this year. Another cygnet has been lost and we are now down to five.

 There is no indication as to what is causing the losses. It could be foxes, mink (sometime ago some well meaning people released some back into the wild at the lake. These animals are voracious hunters and nothing is safe from them) or it could simply be due to illness.

 Over this past weekend the mum has encouraged the young to venture up onto 'the hard' (the parking area at the bottom end of the lake) and take bread and other food from visitors.One of the cygnets is already showing signs of total independence and goes off on its own searching for food. He/she will no doubt end up on the 'naughty step' at some time when mum gets fed up with having to retrieve him/her from potential danger.

 The remainder of the brood are growing rapidly and small stubby winglets are coming through already.

Growing Up Fast - June 29th, 2010

The past week has seen the five cygnets getting bigger and bigger and more bold in what they do. Whether it is because of the gorgeous weather we are experiencing or not, they have been spending considerable time on 'the hard' adjacent to the lane just sun bathing! They seem to be unconcerned about humans getting too close,  whereas both the  female and Cob are very protective.  

The Cob gets quite agitated when people crowd in on the youngsters and makes his presence known, by raising himself to his full height, opening up his wings and having a good old hiss. Not for the faint hearted to hang around when he's on the move! I do have concerns sometimes when parents allow their very young and small children to stay near the Cob  when he's on a mission.

 Today saw an extraordinary sight.

 One of the swans from up the other end of the lake made the mistake of coming too far down  towards 'the hard' area. It  promptly  attracted the attention of the Cob who chased it across the road into the field  behind the lake. Lots of hissing and flapping of wings.The Cob then stood guard at the field entrance and basically defied the intruder from leaving. Eventually the  interloper found its way through the under growth and popped out further up the lane . Not to be out done,  the Cob immediately set off in hot pursuit(and he can move when he puts his mind to it), hissing, wings flapping, having a real hissy fit and  chased  the other swan back onto the water , where it made a hasty retreat to its friends at the other end of the lake!

Double Tragedy - July 11th, 2010

Tragedy has struck twice in the past week. Two more cygnets have been lost. A call has been received from a Felbridge resident who, whilst out walking, saw the body of one of the cygnets by the water’s edge during the week. It appeared to have been attacked by what is thought to have been a mink.

Then on Thursday 8th July it was noticed that yet another cygnet was missing. There are now only three left, and whilst they are all growing bigger by the day, they are obviously still at risk from mink or other predators.

I took the decision to remove the poorly one from the lake and am waiting for the  people from the Teddington swan sanctuary to arrive and take it to be looked after.

How bad can it get? - July 16th, 2010

The one remaining cygnet is still on the lake with its parents. It is noticeable that it spends much more time in amongst the hundreds of ducks and many Canada geese that are currently occupying the hard. We now have a large flock of Greylag geese who have suddenly flown in on their migratory tour.

Another week has passed and our one remaining cygnet is doing well. It continues to grow and the wings are really beginning to show. It spends more and more time away from its parents whilst on the water, but when sunbathing on the hard, parks itself close to both parents.

Accompanied by much loud squawking, a number of gulls have been seen dive bombing the herons as they fly in their leisurely way around the lake. On one occasion the heron under attack swiftly dived for cover and actually hid beneath the canopy of reeds. Not to be outdone, the gulls spent some twenty minutes systematically dive bombing the hapless creature. At times the  gulls were so close to the heron it had to physically 'duck' to avoid being hit. The lesson is 'don't upset a gull’!