Young swan

A drive over to the Goldcliff area where there are reegns running the sides of the fields this morning there were a few gliding on the water the photo is of one of them on its own.
Those familiar with the fairytale “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Andersen may remember how the ‘ugly duckling’ in the story was actually a baby swan and not a duckling at all! In real life, baby swans are not really ugly at all and are well-loved for their fluffy down. Baby swans, or cygnets, hatch covered in a thick down. They're able to run and swim after just hours, but their parents remain very protective over them in the early months of their life.Baby swans are typically dusky grey all over with a soft, fluffy coat and grey-black bill. They have small black feet. All cygnets have this appearance, and the babies of different species can be very hard to tell apart. Even the Australian Black swan has dusky grey cygnets that look similar to any other species. Occasionally, cygnets hatch with all-white down and are known as 'Polish swans'. This seems to apply to Mute swans only. Baby swans weigh around 250g (8.8 oz) and are approximately 20cm (8in) long. They’re the largest of the baby waterfowl, though they are similarly sized to geese chicks. After six months, they already reach around 6kg, reaching their maximum weight of about 14kg after around 3 to 4 years. Swans are very large and heavy birds - the Trumpeter swan is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world!A side-by-side comparison of a cygnet next to a duckling shows how large they really are. Swan eggs are also very heavy at around 350 grams.Baby swans weigh around 250g (8.8 oz) when newly hatched, which is quite hefty. For comparison, a Mallard duckling may weigh just 50 grams.Juvenile swans remain primarily grey with some browny-grey patches that become increasingly lighter at around the 1-year mark. After one year, juvenile swans start becoming markedly white, though ‘dirty’ grey feathers will persist for another year at A juvenile swan’s bill becomes pinkish before turning orange in the case of Mute swans at least (Trumpeters have black bills). Juvenile swans also typically lack the frontal knob of the bill. Juvenile swans are large birds in their own right, and whilst they mature over 3 to 4 years, they’re already approaching adult size after just two years.