Psilos Bird Journal
Monday July 28th 2008
     
Partnerships
 
There are many partnerships in nature. It could be in the form of a pair of birds joining together to bring up a family or as a social group or it can be in the form of juveniles who stick together to help and learn from one another. Today was such a day that displayed this aspect of nature in many different forms.
     

     
There is great excitement in the park at the moment. The pair of Black swans have indeed made another nest and as far as anyone knows are sitting on eggs. Both male and female share the incubation. 4-10 greenish white eggs are laid and incubation takes approx 35 days. To my reckoning incubation probably began in the first week in July so there is about another week to go. Whether the eggs are fertile noone can say and then the youngsters hatch they will be in danger from gulls and herons. They still have a long way to go yet but I am preying hard.


 
 
 
 
Their nest is a bout 8 feet across and is made up of sticks and lilly pads. they work hard at keeping it built up.
 
It can be tiring work and they need to keep their feathers in good condition. Luckily one of the pair decided to take a bath right in front of me but as usual when they come to stretch their wings they always turn their back.