From Graham Brace.
After many doomed attempts by our resident pair of mute swans at nest building and egg laying over several years, including four failed attempts in early spring last year due to high tides and predation, an enterprising neighbour of mine decided enough was enough and went about building a sturdy raft with added buoyancy which was secured to a mooring in the middle of Llangwm Pill. To this he added some hay and other bits of vegetation and, lo and behold, within a few days the pen had boarded the raft and began fashioning a nest. Having already lost at least 4 eggs at previous attempts she laid two on 16th April and in early July two small fluffy cygnets appeared which almost immediately took to the water. There followed a tense couple of months during which residents of both sides of the Pill kept an almost obsessive watch on their safety and development and virtually the entire village became besotted with these two youngsters with daily reports on Llangwm's Facebook page. They grew rapidly and were a close family group until mid-March this year when the now very sturdy offspring were given the old heave-ho and sent packing to make their own way in the world.
Over the winter months the raft, now sporting a healthy green sward of its own, was brought ashore and refurbished. A ramp was added to make access easier along with various other embellishments. It was returned to the mooring at the end of March. Within a couple of days the pen was aboard and rearranging the vegetation and by the end of the first week of April had laid two eggs. By 15th April she was sitting on eight eggs! It goes without saying that we are all overjoyed and hoping that they all hatch successfully and manage to steer clear of the perils around them and survive to adulthood. This is a good example of a bit of human innovation having a very positive effect on the survival of our local wildlife.
I should add that the cob, meanwhile, is always close by feeding, preening and sleeping and patiently playing a waiting game. When hatching begins he will spring into action and play a full and active part in the care of his progeny.
