Two parent swans with three of the six mute swan cygnets. Image by Raven Montague.
Six fluffy bundles arrive on Hauxley reserve
Following on from the distress of a swan being discovered with a fatal head wound at Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s East Chevington reserve at the start of June, there is some happier swan news from another of the wildlife charity’s Druridge Bay reserves.
Six new mute swan cygnets have hatched for the first time in five years and are now happily swimming on the reserve’s lake.
Their parents a set up a territory on the reserve last year but, due to still being young, failed to breed. This year however, it’s a different story with their fluffy offspring delighting visitors in the Lookout Café who can catch glimpses of them through its windows.
The last resident pair of swans moved on from the Druridge Bay reserve at the start of lockdown, having lived on the reserve for nine years and raising over forty cygnets.
Alex Lister, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Druridge Bay Landscapes Manager says:
“What great news, so soon after the sad news that a swan had been killed at our East Chevington reserve. It really is lovely to see them back at Hauxley after a five-year absence and, if they stay as long as their predecessors, there will be plenty more cygnets hatching over the next few years to delight staff and visitors.”