Ask the Swan Specialist

In Response To: Mother seems to have abandoned cygnets? (Emily)

Hello! My boyfriend & I have been watching a swan family since April or May. Up until last month, they always stuck together - a mom, a dad, and six cygnets. In August, we went to visit them twice and found that the mom wasn't there. Towards the end of our last August visit, the mom eventually showed up (after about an hour or so of not being there).

Yesterday, we visited them again, and it was just the dad with the six babies. We stayed for about an hour, and the mom never showed up. Is this typical? Where is the mother? It seems like she's still healthy & alive, just not spending nearly as much time with her family as when the cygnets were really little. Is it normal for the dad to do most of the work at this point?

Also, unrelated, but we observed some weird behavior in the dad last night. All of the young swans got off of land into the water and swam away. The dad stayed on shore until they were gone, then began to follow them. However, as he went to get in the water, he started yanking out tons & tons of plants from the water with his mouth and tossing them to the side. At this point, all of his babies were out of sight. He did this for a while. It didn't seem as though the plants were actually in his way. What's up with this?

Thanks so much!
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