Cygnet trio sets sail on Harbour Links pond

Stan and Wendy are all grown up.

In past nesting seasons, the pair of swans was physically able to reproduce, but they weren’t mature enough to care for their offspring. They ignored their cygnets, sometimes chasing them away from feeding.

But it seems that the youngest pair of Harbour Links swans has grown up. Wendy hatched four eggs April 28, three of which have survived, according to unofficial swan-keeper and Harbour Links resident David Novak. This season, Stan and Wendy have been attentive parents, teaching their hatchlings to feed. Novak said that the three cygnets looked like children splashing in the water as they learned from their parents.

“The three of them are having a frolicking good time,” Novak said.

But there’s sad news to report for the area’s oldest swan pair, Alan and Beverly. The pair began nesting in the Bayou Sound subdivision, according to resident Jane Matson, who reported that two cygnets from their nest hatched last week. But one hatchling disappeared, and Matson witnessed Alan drown the second cygnet. Novak said that Alan’s actions are due to natural selection, when swans and other animals often kill their young if they detect any form of weakness.

“They’re going to secure the proliferation of the species,” Novak said.

The third swan pair, Henry and Vicki, didn’t produce any fertile eggs this season, according to Novak, although Vicki remained on her nest until last weekend. As she began the process of abandoning the nest, Novak disposed of the eggs, which can attract predators.

But there’s always next season for these three pairs of swans — and possibly for a fourth pair. According to Novak, a group of three swans, two of which have paired, frequently fly into and out of the area. Next season, the pair could be mature enough to start breeding. And cygnets aren’t the only thing that could hatch when the pair goes into nesting mode: Once Novak sees that a pair of swans has mated and nested, he finally gives them names.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].