Mute swans & signets
The male is a Cob, the female is a Pen,and the young are Cygnets.
May 7th 2012. The Cygnets are four days old this family are on the stretch of the Montgomery canal known as Dolfor lock they use the canal as far as Aberbechan lock .
The cob is the swan still in the water quite recognisable with the larger black knob on the base of the beak, he is also more protective of his family than the pen..
The cob showing its id tag,
Only six in this years hatch they had nine last year with only 3 surviving the first 8months all were killed by the foxes who are also a protected species. problem around here is the area is a favourite dumping ground of the urban foxes from places like Birmingham Etc ,and as the do gooders say the poor mites have to eat???
The parents uproot what looks like fools parsley that grows along the banks of the canal.
The family with the barn swallows skimming the water for insects
Soooo gorgeous those little cygnets !
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