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Mute Swans Vancouver
2002 Nesting Log - April 20 to 26 |
April 20, 21: No new eggs for the "B" pair
- no doubt now that all five are theirs. They have settled into
incubation. Now the pen will spend most of the next 35 to 45 days
sitting on the nest. The cob will relieve her occasionally, but
will spend most of his time patrolling their territory. The new
pair remain confined to a small area - kept there by the "B"
pair whose territory they are in. That pair (provisionally labelled
"F" have shown some signs of courtship, but it is unlikely
they will attempt to nest (no territory). The "B" pair
now have an abundance of nesting material - collected by (human)
well-wishers over the last week. The "A" pair continue
nest building and the "D" pair seem to have settled
into some serious nest building (also assisted by human "donations").
Here are two photos of the "B" pair - cob guarding nest
with pen sitting and the pen turning the eggs (as they must do
to keep them healthy)...
April 23: One of the regular visitors to the park saw
the "A" pen actually laying an egg at the new nest site
(no photos).
April 24: The same person (reliable) reported seeing
an egg in the "D" (Causeway) nest - a first for this
brother/sister pair! There are reports that this was actually
the second egg - the first was lost? No photos. I observed the
cob from last year's "C" pair in courtship display with
the two-year old daughter of the "B" pair. This is the
same old male who paired with a two-year-old last year (she is
now with her brother as the "D" pair). I have started
referring to this new pair as "E". Note that he is also
"Polish" (pinkish legs). They were in the area between
the "A" and"B" sites (not far from last year's
"C" site). From the photos below you can tell that the
pen is still quite young - from the colour of her bill...
April 25: The "B" pair still have five eggs
(photo). The "A" pair are still busy at their new nest
- I do not know how many eggs they have. I have now seen the single
egg in the "D" nest. That nest now has a fence around
it - photos below...
April 26: I was unable to determine egg counts today
- all the swans remained well settled on their nests. I did discover
that the "B" pair had finally chased the new swans ("F"
pair) across the road at Second Beach and out of their territory.
The photos below the "F" pair on the ocean at Second
Beach. I wonder how long it will be before the Parks Board discover
that two of their "prisoners" have escaped?
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