Swan success for Heron Island

Every year a pair of Swans have nested in the area known as the Mill Race, the body of water (about 2ft deep in the summer) which separtaes the mainland from the Island itself. 

Each year the Swans have nested and produed around 6-8 cygnets however they have rarely survived. In Spring 2018, we found out this was because of cygnets being caught in the current and taken over the weir at the end of the Mill Race, separating them from their parents and almost certainly leading to their sad demise. 

This year (2019) was different. The problem was tackled with creating a new fence across the weir, which can be put in place every spring, stopping the cygnets and ducklings from getting too close to the wier and swept away. 

The result is five healthy cygnets which were recently tagged as part of the Royal Swan counting known as Swan Upping.