From Graham Brace:
In early April I reported that our resident mute swans in Llangwm Pill had once again adopted the raft provided for them and had laid a clutch of eight eggs. The pen diligently sat on these eggs for six weeks. Two eggs were lost when somehow they rolled off the raft and were washed away shortly before the remaining six hatched over two days around 22nd May (see photograph). The emergence of these six balls of fluff brought great joy to the folks living around the shore as well and to the village as a whole. The initial euphoria was slightly diminished when over the next two days, and despite heroic efforts to save them, two of the cygnets perished when they became stuck in the mud around the raft at low tide. A further two disappeared over the next couple of days leaving three who appeared to be thriving well.
During the night of 30th May a bold and wily fox that had been seen prowling around the shore nearby somehow managed wade across mud, evade the cob and pen and take the remaining three cygnets. An air of gloom and despair has fallen on the local community deprived of the pleasure of watching this family thrive and grow as they did last year. A cruel turn of events but that’s Mother Nature for you. Naturally, Mr. Fox was well rewarded for his exploits. Since then both the cob and pen appear bereft and aimless, and the pen took to the raft and barely moved for two days. However, they seem to have recovered today and this morning I saw them being fed by an elderly resident.
