Our thanks to the RSPCA who carried out the operation to capture the cygnet and remove the hook and to everyone in the park for keeping an eye on the swan and reporting the situation.

We have noticed (and several people have let us know) that it does appear to be harassing this years cygnets. Maybe this is not a bad thing as they may fly off and find other places to stay. Unfortunately this year the cygnet from last year was harassed by its own parents to the point where it died.

The good news is that we have witnessed what appears to be courting behaviour between our surviving pen and the new arrival. It is looking increasingly likely that the new one is a young male.

And yes this will be raised with the fishing club. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to contact us. If you do see animals in distress in the park please contact the RSPCA, unfortunately there is little the Friends of Sandall Park can do and the RSPCA always ask for some details which we usually cannot provide when we pass on the information secondhand.

It is tagged so we are making enquiries to find out its background and where it came from. We have had reports of another Black Swan on Lakeside that had been tagged so it may well be the same one – good news all the same.

At this rate we will need a bigger logo!!

Another superb picture from Derrick Bewell shows how they have grown.

“This is a tricky query, and one to which I’m afraid I don’t have a definitive answer. There is a school of thought that says all swans (including Black Swans) mate for life and should one partner be killed, the other won’t mate again. The feeling amongst my BTO colleagues is that this is something of a myth, even though websites like Wikipedia state the opposite view http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan.

Personally, I suspect the female will look for a new partner and (assuming she has no choice) may end up pairing with one of her offspring. In wild animals, the risks of inbreeding are outweighed by the urge to reproduce (which, incidentally, is why species that get near to extinction remain at risk in the future, even if they are protected and their population recovers).

As for “legally finding a replacement”, if the person who asked this means buying in a male from a bird collection somewhere else in the country, I’m afraid that’s out of our area of expertise. I would suggest leaving things as they are and letting nature take its course, even though the possibility of inbreeding would be unacceptable by human standards.”

Hope this helps.
Kind regards,
BTO

There are still three well nourished and healthy cygnets and mom – under the protective eye of nearly every visitor to the park. Have you noticed how the cygnets  are now pretty independent and even chase the Canadian geese on their own!

If anyone takes any other pictures of the park please forward them to us and we will publish them.

The second photo shows one of them practicing flying. Interesting that when it stretches its wings they are clearly black underneath. The other point of note is that the beak on this cygnet is clearly red.

Part of the survey is to supply a list and approximate numbers of the different breeds of birds at the same location. Your task, should you wish to take it, is to identify the different breeds of ducks on the lake and their numbers.

Any help particularly with the different types of geese would be appreciated. Click the picture below to visit the Bird Atlas 2007 – 11. It makes interesting reading. Send any information to sandallpark@gmail.com

The first thing I noticed was the size of our prized assets – the cygnets. Amazing! The one with the fishing line in its mouth is fine (but still with the fishing line) an the one that troubled us all – the one with the dodgy leg (limpy) is also showing no sign of a problem and is walking (not limping) fine.

So, it’s  three out of four doing well for the year to date.