Not meant to climb...

These cygnets (eight of them if you count carefully) have hatched since Saturday and clearly they are in at the deep end. (Well actually I'm sure they coped fine with the deep end, it's getting out that's the uphill struggle - literally - especially when your feet are made for paddling, not climbing.)

The water level is lower in the pond than usual, so it's further to get out. I watched them struggling for a while, then couldn't watch them any more. I went round the pond and caught up with the two coot nests (no sign of babies in either of them yet), also the very fine heron having a preening session. I hope it doesn't have an unhealthy interest in the cygnets. There were a couple of herring gulls who were definitely watching the struggling cygnets with an unhealthy interest. Surely the cygnets are too big for them? Maybe not. Five Canada geese today who were being seen off by the male swan, but not as aggressively as I would have expected. Maybe he is still warming up to the full  warpath. By the time I had returned to the cygnets most of them had got out and were under mum, but there was one still struggling. I guess rain would be the answer, although it might flood one of the coot nests. Nature isn't easy.