Watch this incredible recording of a mute swan as she lays a new clutch of eggs this spring.
I’ve been following this pair of mute swans for three years now, and I was pleased to see them return to the same nest this February.
Egg laying
In mid-March my cameras caught the moment the female laid her first egg. Just two days later she laid a second, and, 38 hours later, at night, my cameras recorded the peculiar sound this female swan made as she pushed to lay her third egg. And the next day, we get a fourth egg! Over the coming weeks I expect the female will lay around 10-12 eggs in total. These numbers are based on my studies of these swans over the last two years.
Protecting the eggs
It's interesting to see how the swan pair cover their eggs with nesting material whenever they leave the nest. Look out for this behaviour on the live nest camera, they do it to protect the eggs from any potential predators.
