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Swans questions (1 Viewer)

Hello, I’m not sure that I’m posting this in the correct place, I just joined.
We have a brooding swan couple who’ve set up a nest on a small bank on the side of a river near our home. It seems precarious because the river is 10’ below road level and the swans are nesting on a small floating island attached to the wall of the river. I hope the river doesn’t rise more than a few inches because there’s nowhere for the swans/eggs to get away from the water. This is the second time we’ve seen this couple with eggs, here. The first time they had 6 signets, who all survived! Their island was also covered in vegetation. I saw the mom today has 4 eggs in a sad looking nest. The issue is there’s almost no vegetation around the muddy bank to build a nest. The city must’ve cleared away the vegetation. I saw her pulling up a handful of green leaves and trying to pull out a buried rag to add to her nest. Otherwise she has garbage and muddy river junk around her. Would it be ok if I brought her some moss, sticks, leaves and maybe down? I’d have to bundle it up and lower it down to her because she’s below street level and I have no access to the river. Would it disturb her to lower a bundle of nesting material? I’d lower it as far from her as possible so as not to upset her. The male doesn’t seem to be bringing her nesting material. Also, she’s missing a foot, so it’s difficult for her to walk. She’s pretty incredible, though. I’ll post photos next time.
Thanks!
 
Hi Leah and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. If they've nested there successfully before, then they'll continue to do so until there's a failure, then they'll probably look for somewhere else. Waterside nesting birds seem to be aware of the dangers of different water levels somehow and appear to accept that flooding will occur occasionally.

Is the lack of vegetation due to it being Spring and the grass etc hasn't yet grown. It should gradually grow and disguise the nest I'd think. Please don't interfere, you really could do more harm than good. Best to take notes of what you observe, on what date, what the weather was like, etc; how many eggs, how many hatched, how many survived to adulthood (you can't really record too much). Then do the same next year and for as long as they remain to breed there (or you live there).

This way you can compare the success / failures, and what may have been the cause. It seems like you're ideally placed to make such records, and, if necessary, go to the council with suggestions about the way the waterway could be improved, or the timings of any work they need to do.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.
 
Hi Leah and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. If they've nested there successfully before, then they'll continue to do so until there's a failure, then they'll probably look for somewhere else. Waterside nesting birds seem to be aware of the dangers of different water levels somehow and appear to accept that flooding will occur occasionally.

Is the lack of vegetation due to it being Spring and the grass etc hasn't yet grown. It should gradually grow and disguise the nest I'd think. Please don't interfere, you really could do more harm than good. Best to take notes of what you observe, on what date, what the weather was like, etc; how many eggs, how many hatched, how many survived to adulthood (you can't really record too much). Then do the same next year and for as long as they remain to breed there (or you live there).

This way you can compare the success / failures, and what may have been the cause. It seems like you're ideally placed to make such records, and, if necessary, go to the council with suggestions about the way the waterway could be improved, or the timings of any work they need to do.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.
 

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