This is certainly a perplexing case. The only other possibility is that the first seven hatched out first and the parents took them out onto the pond and kept the younger seven in the nest until they were a little older. This is still far-fetched as an explanation as most swans will take the cygnets out onto the pond one day after hatching. If the other seven were not able to get out of the nest within their 24 hours, this might be a possibility, but it would seem that the male or female would be watching over the nest as the one parent and seven went out onto the pond. Again, we have not come across this type of situation, so we can only speculate. The Regal Swan
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