Nature's Way

There are times when life presents you with the unexpected. I went to see the swans again today. Mama was sitting on her nest, a little disturbed though I didn't realize this was the case until later.

I was distracted by a couple of fish that I had not seen at any other visit. They were quarreling and I was trying to get a picture. 

Suddenly, I heard the woman standing near me say, "She's got an egg!" I looked up and there was mama swan, egg-in-mouth. Of course, distress is spreading among we few onlookers. I, unfortunately, had set my camera lens to photo the fish, resulting in much fumbling on my part to get a picture. What you see here is the egg in the water to the left of mama, after she had dunked and apparently cracked it open.

She proceeded to eat the remains (sorry if this is offensive; it's what happened).

Then she went to the nest and took out pieces of grass and ate those too.

This happened repeatedly.

Papa showed up, I'm sure sensing her distress.

They cleaned up the water, gulping whatever they could find where the egg had been dropped.

It was sad to watch, but nature's way--survival of the fittest.

At one point mama looked as if to cry...

Papa stayed with her for a while,

making sure she could settle down,

which she did,

but only for a while. The 'cleaning of the nest' process lasted for some time.

But she did finally relax.

It appears the rest of the eggs are in good shape, and mama and papa got back to the business of hibernating and nest reinforcement.

I watched much of this with tears brimming, sad for the loss but in awe. It's not often that one gets to watch nature doing its thing; I'm glad I was there.

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise