Day 43 – Cygnets

The orienteering club’s Ladies Monday running group have been monitoring the progress of Swan nests on various ponds in Edinburgh to see which one was first to produce babies. It turns out these guys on the canal near the centre of town won hands down. R saw them on Saturday swimming on the canal with 7 cygnets, but we only saw them at the nest so didn’t get a good view. R saw them yesterday with only 6, so 1 was taken by something unknown. As the weather was good I went out this afternoon, and found them near the end of the canal, where they were being particularly photogenic. The blip shows the mother and the cygnets heading west towards the Leamington swing bridge and the first extra a blip of the cygnets on their own. Everyone going past stopped to take a picture and with wee souls like this who could blame them. Where we saw this duckling, on Saturday there were now only 3 ducklings left so that shows the attrition rate. The second extra taken at the same place shows a new family of 11 ducklings; wonder how many will make it through the next wee while.

Best large.