Four new cygnets on Ham Pond - # 08/121

As promised yesterday - here are the four of them. I'll try to track them through the season, and if really lucky catch them when Daddy is giving flying lessons. He starts by teaching them to lay out a runway and calculate distance.

Mother and child - # -8/120

Great news from Ham Pond! Some time ago I told you the story of the demise of the resident swan family because of the uncontrolled dog. This year the new resident swan (who arrived after a season with no swans at all occupying the pond) found a mate, and four new cygnets hatched out about 3 days ago. I saw the new babies shortly after hatching, but had no camera. Here is my very first, carefully selected, shot (I'll show all four tomorrow).

Camera: Olympus E3

Rough Nature - the whole story - # 08/65

Two years ago a dog killed the whole family of swans living on the pond. Last year a new swan took over the empty pond and this year found a mate. Canada geese arrived as usual in winter. This Spring the swans have mated and the Cob is now very aggressively defending "his" pond.

Most of the other Canadas have gone but these two remained. Naturally the powerful aggressive swan is keeping them off the small nesting island. Hour by hour he confronts the geese and refuses to let them onto the water.

I captured the goose as she started to lay and egg on the bank. The swan is keeping the two geese off the water. You can see the egg just starting to emerge. Yesterday you saw it two thirds out.

Renewing the life cycle- # 228

A few weeks ago I showed this view in the fog: http://richmonduponthamesdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/08/ham-pond-and-gordon-house-in-fog-210.html

The important thing about this shot is the swan.

For several years two swans occupied the pond and reared successfully reared their young. Last year a fierce dog killed the mother swan and some cygnets. The father reared the remaining cygnets single handed, taught them to fly, and remained alone unable to attract a new mate. He pined away and died early this Summer. The pond remained empty.

Suddenly a new swan has appeared to occupy the vacant pond. Here he is. He has been around for several weeks and hopefully he will attract a mate, and so next year we will have swans on the pond again......