The Long Tradition Of Swans On The College Lake

The college has a long tradition of swans on its lake and it seems appropriate that in the final year of the blog the story of the swans has drawn to a heartwarming conclusion with the successful rearing of two cygnets. The story began during the blog's first year, 2009, with the arrival of a juvenile swan that, if swans can do such a thing, introduced itself to Ali whilst she was working on the herbaceous border.

2009, Let me introduce myself

Ali has never forgotten this introduction and so began her fascination with the swans on the college lake, she likes to believe that this young swan was part of the pair that arrived in 2012 having spent the ensuing time finding a mate having already found a place it wanted to live and rear its family.
Since the pair first arrived their lives have been observed by Ali, the highs and lows have been documented in this blog. 
Last year was the first successful year for the swans with the rearing of three cygnets, the first time in five years that the eggs had hatched, see blog entry 25th May 2017 'Cygnets On The Lake'. (This entry provides the link for the blog entries from March 2012). The cygnets and the adults remained on the lake for just 10 days before moving onto the Oxford Canal then returning to the lake for a single day two months later, see blog entry 27th July 2017 'The Swans Return With Three Cygnets'.
This year has been another successful year for the resident swan pair but, unlike last year, they have divided their time between the lake and the canal allowing Ali to watch the cygnets grow and develop into juveniles.
The nest was built in the same place on the island, the eggs hatched between 21st-22nd May and five cygnets were first seen on the lake on the 24th May. They stayed a little longer than last year, leaving for the canal 16 days later, but returned every week throughout the summer until, after 16 weeks, the adults separated from their cygnets as the youngsters became more independent and returned to the lake without them. The series of photographs and a video show their journey from May to September.

The new young family on the lake 25th May 2018

 

Cygnets on the nest 29th May 2018

 

Riding on Dad's back

8th June, Four cygnets getting out of the lake

8th June, Leaving the lake for the canal, we will be back.

We are back

27th June, Growing up fast

3rd August, First sign of white feathers on the wing tips

28th August, I have wings!

30th August, Just like Dad

30th August, Just like Mum

On our own, cygnets on the canal

Ali is not the only member of the college who has kept a record of the swans, the following is a passage from the memoir of Provost Lys (Francis John Lys, Provost 1919-1946). Kindly provided by the college archivist, Emma, this piece shows has history repeats itself, a pen dying and a pair of swans of the same sex!

"When one of the swans disappeared, I got rid of the other and bought a new pair early in 1914, the cob in its first year, and the pen, got from a different place, in its second. They began to breed in 1914, generally laid a clutch of nine eggs, sometimes hatching and bringing up all nine, perhaps more often eight. After two or three years the keeper of the Scottish Zoo at Edinburgh asked if I could send him cygnets, and for some years sent crates and took them at £1 apiece, which provided a useful little fund for replacing losses among the ducks. He thought they were specially strong cygnets. I suppose it was about the year 1936 when their broods became progressively smaller, and their breeding seemed to be coming to an end. The pen died on her nest in 1938. In this year instead of getting a new pair of swans from different places, as I had done more wisely in 1914, I bought a couple from Messrs. McLean & Wormald, in Norfolk, the chief breeders of ornamental water fowl, from whom I had obtained some ducks. They appeared later to be of the same sex, we could not be sure which. Messrs. McLean & Wormald were to replace them in 1939, but gave up business because of the war and could not do so. Julian Huxley, then secretary of the London Zoo, asked the Director of the Edward Grey ornithological institute to determine the sex of the couple which we had. He unfortunately relied on information which he thought he got from a deaf old man employed in the garden who knew nothing about the birds, and reported that he thought they were both females. We afterwards concluded rightly that they were both cobs. I had great difficulty in war time in procuring a pen. At last I got one from the Vintners’ Company, but its age apparently was not kown, and as it laid only small clutches, it was probably old. Its wing also was broken by a ruffianly visitor who seems to have struck it with a heavy stick. It was permanently disfigured and died this year, whether owing to this injury or to age."

Christmas card 1933, 8 cygnets June 1933

Also provided by Emma is a photograph of a drawing of swans on the lake by Sydney Paviere from 1922  and a photograph of a stained glass window in the Lower Library depicting swans on the lake. "The window commemorates Henry Allison Pottinger who graduated with a first in 1847 and was Lecturer in Modern History and Law from 1865. He was elected a fellow in 1883 and became Librarian in 1884. Pottinger is shown sitting at a table among his books.  In the background he is seen looking at swans in the lake"

Swans on the lake by Sydney Paviere

A stained glass window in the Lower Library depicting swans on the lake.