Are you sure the babies you have seen are cygnets (baby swans) or ducklings/goslings? This is too early for the swans to have nested and produce cygnets as this does not usually occur until March-April.

If the adult swan has cygnets, they would be approximately the size of the adult swan at this time of the year, so we would suggest that you are seeing the offspring of ducks or geese.

More than likely, this was a swan on the migratory path and used your pond as a stopover (resting period) before going further south. The past few days have seen more inclement weather coming from the north and the swan may have realized that it needed to move further south or it would have become trapped in the pond if it were to freeze with little or no food/water/shelter resources.

If the swan liked your pond on the stopover, it may actually bring a mate to your pond during the spring nesting season and establish its habitat in your pond. The Regal Swan
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