2020

The swans on the Heath pond are mute swans. The male is called a "cob" - from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); the female "pen," and their chicks are known as "cygnets" - from the Latin word for swan, cygnus.

Swan pairs typically bond for life and pairs stay together throughout the year, including moving together in migratory populations. However, it has been observed that some of them switch mates over their lifetimes, particularly after nesting failures, and some that lost their mate did not mate again. The "divorce rate" is estimated to be about 6%

Swans are known to live 20 to 30 years. The first nesting usually occurs when they are 4 or 5 years old.

Swans feed primarily on aquatic plants; but they also eat grain, grasses and crop foods, such as wheat, potatoes and carrots - especially in the winter when other food sources aren't readily available.

2021