Kitchen Garden Forum

I've just been across the fields with the dog, and part of the way goes alongside a little stream. Came across a pair of Swans with 9 cygnets
Usually see them with one or two, but never with this many. They were quite large so have survived the dangerous time when they are small.

wow, that was a lot, on wikepedia it says they can have 3 - 8 so that might be a record !

Hi NB,
I suspect the record is somewhat higher but certainly wonderful.
The Swans on a lake locally hatched 6 Cygnets but sadly they disappeared within a couple of weeks and we all suspect Mink as the culprits but cannot actually prove it.
Since this has happened 12 Mink have been trapped in the vicinity, which is thought to be an entire family, so perhaps the Swans may manage to raise their young in peace next year.
This is the first year in the last 30 that no young have been raised.
The traps are to remain in place for the time being and certainly for more than a year to give the Swans a fighting chance.
JB.

Some folk are irresponsible with releasing things into the wild, hope the swans do well. We get a lot of swans and canada geese and other wildfowl on romney marsh wild reserve, I see flocks of canada geese migrating back to canada every autumn, and I know winter is about to set in, Ii's always good to see them herald spring again.

Hi NB

I think you will find that canda geese are an introduced species from north america.

regards

Kevin

Kevin wrote:Hi NB

I think you will find that canda geese are an introduced species from north america.

regards

Kevin

...and as far as I'm aware, do not migrate to Canada. They're here to stay

ops sorry Thank You Alan I take it i will not be getting a gold star for this posting

Regards

Kevin

Hi Alan,
You are right Canada Geese are now reaching plague proportions hereabouts and I have a large flock the flow over my property and some really silly times when it is totally dark in the middle of the night.
Of course you need a licence to control numbers and only a certain amount of licences are permitted in a given area and they have been given to people who, most of them, do not even own shotguns.
Conservationists! Need I say any more!
JB.

Kevin wrote:ops sorry Thank You Alan I take it i will not be getting a gold star for this posting

Regards

Kevin

Far from it Kevin. What you said was 100% accurate