What a joy, watching all the little swans changing day by day, and of course, our older ones asserting their unique personalities. It sure didn't take long for the new cygnets to become tame and come up on shore. I felt happier when they stayed in the water, and try to "herd" them back in when I catch them up on the ground.

Three of the Ambleside cygnets stay together most of the time. That first day, the one little swan seemed more like a teddy bear than a bird, when I picked him up from the van, so I call them "the three bears." The fourth still likes to shadow Junior or hang out nearby.

Tristan ..... is so happy having new young swans to pick on - he's in swan-heaven! I caught him at it the other day, when two of the cygnets had come up on land together on what Tristan considered his personal ground. He reached over, took a peck at the nearest one, but they wouldn't leave - they just moved away from his reach! It was so funny watching them in a sort of ballet...one reaching his long neck to peck and the others moving just beyond his range (see picture below).
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