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Sara Beth and Diablo have appeared, disappeared and reappeared all spring. I do hope that they will stay this year ... unlike last year, the very first summer that our creek was "swanless". At first, they came every day with their little cygnets, then suddenly they came alone ... and, then, they just swam off to parts unknown. A most distressing and sad summer for me ... The older Diablo gets, the more imperious he has become. Whenever, he is hungry, he swims in an area of the creek that I can see from my kitchen, sticks his long neck over the dock, like a periscope, and stares ... an extremely demanding stare. Even though it is about one hundred fifty feet from my kitchen to the dock, I always feel that he is looking right at me. And, of course, I drop whatever it is that I am doing and run right down to feed him. He's also taught me to be at my duck ramp between five and six o'clock because that's when he brings Sara Beth for dinner. And, if I should be engrossed in something or other, and not realize he is waiting for me, my beautiful "devil" wreaks such havoc in the creek with the geese that their extremely loud honking and wild splashing always alert me to his presence. This spring, hopefully, things will be different and I will once again have the pleasure of my swans and their little family for I am sure that Sara Beth is nesting ...
Thus far, it's been a most unusual spring. Sara Beth and Diablo have stayed for a week or two, left for a month or so and then have come back again. Mother's Day has come and gone and still no sign of babies - or even of Sara Beth and Diablo!
Finally, on May 30th, I was absolutely thrilled to see Sara Beth and Diablo proudly showing off their cygnets. What a glorious sight! Each year, it happens so often that it's almost become a ritual, whenever I compliment Diablo on his new little family, he gets up high in the water, puffs up his wings and makes a sort of "job well done" type of snort-snuffle. He always makes me laugh for I truly believe that he likes to be complimented!
Sara Beth, on the other hand, is just so lady-like as she daintily churns up the bottom of the creek with her webbed feet allowing all the "goodies" to float to the surface so that her babies can dine on the creek's many delicacies. I love to watch as she gently teaches them to eat the cracked corn I throw in between the cleats of the duck ramp. At first, the cygnets much prefer to eat all the natural foods which come to the surface of the water. However, after watching their mom nibble at the cracked corn, they slowly begin to taste it, then enjoy it and, finally, one precocious little baby (on the far right) began "up-ending" for some!
My heart was so filled with joy that Sara Beth and Diablo had another little family and that they, once again, would be sharing all of their escapades with me. I was constantly down at the dock the next day, feeding and watching and thoroughly enjoying my little swan family. As they left that evening, romantically floating off into the sunset, mama and papa swan guarding their little ones, I could only wish them "Godspeed" and hope that all goes well for my dear wild-friends.
The next day found me constantly down at the dock waiting for my little family to arrive. There was no sign of them all day. Again, the geese and their little families filled the creek with their raucous honking and loud splashing ... definite signs that my swan family was nowhere near. That evening, as dusk fell, I began to worry more and more about Sara Beth and Diablo. I had always thought that among all the waterfowl who nest along the edges of the creek, they were practically invincible. Sadly, last year I learned that this wasn't necessarily true ... that their babies were also subject to the predators who roam in the darkness. And, then, there, in my sanctuary, my heart fell for there was Sara Beth and Diablo on the dock, all alone, not a baby in sight, on land or in the water ... My eyes filled up with tears for I knew that they would never leave their babies alone ... not even for a second ... they are just such good parents... More to come ...
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