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Two Mute Swan Families & Cygnets [May 2021]

In May 2021, I followed two mute swan couples during the incubation and hatching of their cygnets. Here are two galleries that record this, with highlights being the cygnets.
Published by Dr Jiulin Teng on 01 Aug 2021 · Updated on 01 Aug 2021
Keywords: cygnetlakemute-swannature
Hero Image for Two Mute Swan Families & Cygnets [May 2021]
In May 2021, I followed closely two mute swan couples in their breeding season. The first couple laid their eggs in late March. Three out of four eggs hatched in early May. Unfortunately, one cygnet disappeared in less than a week, and the other two disappeared together about a week later. I suspect that the heron family sharing the same pond, which apparently took interest in the cygnets (not captured in photos, though flyovers during the day were frequent), snatched them.
The second couple mated in late April, which I was fortunate to have encountered and recorded (see my previous gallery). The eggs hatched in June.
In this post, I share photos of both swan families. Highlights are definitely the cygnets who are in this world no more.

Video

Before we go to the galleries, here is a video of the first mute swan family:

Gallery: Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021]

Yvelines
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #1
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #2
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #3
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #4
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #5
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #6
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #7
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #8
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #9
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #10
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #11
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #12
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #13
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #14
Mute Swan Family 1 [May 2021] #15

Gallery: Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021]

Yvelines
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #1
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #2
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #3
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #4
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #5
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #6
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #7
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #8
Mute Swan Family 2 [May 2021] #9

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