It has been four weeks now, since his pen laid her eggs. While she is on the nest he keeps her safe, patrolling the river. From one bridge to the next, he sees that all is well. He greets familiar faces above the buttercups and shepherd’s purse, the fresh blades of grass. He looks so much better this year, more confident. People stroll along the river bank, to see how he is doing. We all want him to do well. Last year’s eggs never hatched. We are hoping that this year, things will be better.
temple blossoms
seagulls flock to guard
a sleeping swan
© Xenia Tran
You can see images of his pen (female swan) on the nest in an earlier post ‘Nesting Swan‘. She raised 62 cygnets over the last nine years with her previous cob (male swan), before he passed away.
Update: on 17th May 2018 seven cygnets hatched – you can see the first images in our post New Life.
With love from Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
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Awesome pics and lovely birds!
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Thank you so much for your kind words! :o)
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So many babies over the years, it’s lovely she found another mate 💞 Fingers crossed the eggs hatch this year xxx
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Thank you Cathy! Fingers crossed they will hatch this year, the pen is such a lovely mum :o) xxx
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Hope those eggs hatch! Keep us posted!
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Thank you Laurie, we hope so too and will keep you posted ☺💖 xxx
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I’ll be waiting to hear.
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Lovely images.
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Thank you dear Rupali ☺💜
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Love your story… I hope that she will like it with her new mate… Swans need each other.
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Thank you Björn, they really do need each other and I love how the gulls watch over the sleeping cob and how, on other occasions, the swans babysit the seagull chicks :o)
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I hope those eggs hatch this year — lovely writing!
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Thank you so much for your kind words Jo, we are keeping our fingers crossed! :o) xxx
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I like how swans rest their heads on their backs.
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Thank you Frank, it looks very comfy! :o)
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Beautiful, Xenia! Swans mate for life and mourn the loss of their partners. They are so faithful and it’s wonderful that the cob looks after the pen. I hope the eggs hatch.
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Thank you Kim, we are very hopeful. She has really bonded with this cob and he seems a very kind soul :o) xxx
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Birds seem to be a theme within a theme. This is so beautifully observed.
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Thank you Sarah, we love how the different birds interact and how the seagulls give the cob a bit of ‘respite’ – they have a great community spirit :o) xxx
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Too bad so many have lost this compassionate instinct when it come to human relationships. Love for a lifetimes seems to have gone by the wayside lifetimes ago.
dwight
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Thank you Dwight, we are perhaps lucky that we still see a lot of compassion where we are in a place where many continue to hold hands with the same person all their lives :o)
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Very special indeed!
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Bless her, hope things go well this year – a very moving story!
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Thank you so much for your kind words Marina. The eggs are hatching this morning and we have seen five cygnets so far – there will be photographs and plenty of poems to follow their progress throughout the year! ☺💖 xxx
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How lovely! Can’t wait!
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Love of Nature
Instinctual
Inborn
Compassion
For Living JusT LiVinG..:)
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Thank you Fred, that is beautiful 🤗💖 xxx
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You are welcome
Kind Tranature..😺
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