Nesting Mute Swan

A friendly passerby stopped me as I walked this morning and asked if I liked taking pictures of birds (she saw my camera). I said yes and she told me about a pair of nesting swans not to far from here. I got in the car and headed there as soon as I got back to the house.

There she was, a graceful Mute Swan, sitting on her eggs. The male was not around; I'll bet he was foraging to bring her some breakfast.

They built the huge nest in a canal that flows between a busy road and a development. Many people stopped while I was there, intrigued by this gorgeous swan, nesting in a very public place. 

She was quite still when I was there this morning, but she did pose once.

I went back this afternoon to see if papa had returned, but she was still alone. She preened a little,

 

 and posed a little. She never left the nest and won't until the cygnets (swan chicks) hatch.

I'll go back over the next few days (yes, I'm hooked) to see if I can spot papa or maybe even be lucky enough to see the cygnets. One woman who had stopped to take pictures told me the nest has been there since January. I later learned that Mute Swans take two to three weeks to build the nest (I'm not surprised, it's about four feet wide), two to three weeks to lay all their eggs and then they incubate them all at the same time. Hatching usually takes about six weeks...that means they could be hatching any day! You know I'll be sharing more about them, stay tuned.

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise