More than likely, the cygnet (baby swan) may not be old enough to fly or it is just about ready to fly, but not yet. The parents will keep the young bird around until the time that he/she is old enough to fly and take care of itself. If it is a female, there may be a better probability that the mating pair will not mind having a young female remain in the area, not always, but sometimes this can occur.

Finally, most male swans will stand up and fight any intruder in the habitat. The goose would be such an intruder, but with the family together, the male swan is not going to risk injury to the female or the cygnet if they can flee together. If he were alone and the two other swans could escape in the opposite direction, quickly, he may stand his ground. If there was no method of fleeing or hiding, then the best thing to do was to reverse direction and keep the family together so that in the event a defensive stand was required, the male could protect the family somewhat instead of having separate swans under attack. Once the goose left the area and the threat was over, then the birds continued along their way. The Regal Swan
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