The picture shared today features a pair of adult swans and, if you look closely, their brood of cygnets.

The photograph was taken a few minutes after the swan at the front had gone into full blown protect-the-family mode.

A man was coming down the canal on a sit-down paddle board (he must have been fishing, as there were a couple of fishing rods attached to the back of the board). As soon as the swan noticed him heading in the direction of its family, even though he was still about thirty meters away, immediately launched into a threatening flight directly towards the man, flying inches above the surface, it’s wing tips making splashes on the water.

The guy on the paddle-board slowed himself to a stop and the swan dropped back into the water maybe seven or eight feet in front of him, it’s long neck coiled down into a tight number-two shape. The swan then proceeded to swim back and forth in front of the board, clearly prepared for any sign of hostility towards it’s nearby family. This continued until the guy gently and slowly passed downstream from the birds.

I took great care not to antagonise the swans when I took this picture. The thing about a swan being able to break a man’s arm is most likely an urban myth, but I felt it prudent to take no chances. 🙂

Yashica Mat 124G & Fujifilm Pro 400H. Lab developed, home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro. Converted to B&W in Lightroom.