Sunday, November 21, 2010

Swan Watch XIV: Alone

Our baby swan seems to have been abandoned.
As you know Io has been keeping her eye on our little family. She reported that she hadn’t seen the mother swan for the past two days.

When I went down to have a look baby came over towards us.Mother swan was still nowhere to be seen.

Normally cygnets stay with their parents until they can fly at around six months of age, and sometimes until the next brood is hatched.
Baby is around four months old so this is surprising.

On the up side, cygnets feed themselves from the time they hatch and there is plenty of feed around here.
Although he/she seems a little young baby is not likely to fall prey to hawks or the like. Also baby seems more cautious on its own, staying well clear of us.I’ve got my fingers crossed that things work out OK, I’ll keep you posted.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

How sad! I wonder why the mother has abandoned the cygnet. Fingers crossed that all will be well.

Al said...

It is sad.
I don't know, but I would hazard a guess that these might have been first time parents. They only managed to hatch two of their clutch and then dad disappeared. Mum has probably misjudged how capable baby is through inexperience.
Yes fingers crossed.

The Words Crafter said...

This is so sad. I hope nothing has happened to the mother. I'm glad she has you guys to watch over her, even if she is cautious.

I didn't know that they stayed with their parents for so long.

By the way, Hello! I'm new here and I love your swan photos!

Joanna St. James said...

aaww poor thing. where are the wonder pets when you need them?

http://www.samposey.com/ said...

What's wrong with that mom? Unless of course she herself fell prey to something unpleasant. Hope everything turns out okay.

Old Kitty said...

Oh I hope mum is just off somewhere and that dad will be with the baby soon too!! Oh dear! I'll continue to think positive thoughts until there's concrete proof to do so otherwise! Poor baby cygnet! :-( Take care and thanks Al for the update and Io for keeping a vigil!

x

Sarah Ahiers said...

aww i hope mom is ok! I worry about dad swan too, since swans mate for life.
Man, this little swan family hasn't had it easy

Rebecca A Emrich said...

crossing fingers and hoping for teh best as well...

Hart Johnson said...

Uh oh! I hope his mama comes back, but if not, I really hope he's okay!

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Susan Fields said...

That is so sad! Baby looks lonely. It's good to know there's plenty of food around.