Swan Pair's New Young

 Last year, the swan pair that had been living in the section of the Sudbury River near Wickford Bridge had 2 cygnets. They stayed with their parents until they were about fully grown, in February, and then one day the pair was alone again. I assume the young swans had left to try and establish their own territories. 

About 2 weeks ago, I saw that the pair was now joined by 7 tiny, gray cygnets. I continued to see them for a few days, but didn't have my camera (Canon Rebel T3, Tamron 18-400 Lens). When I finally went to "Simpson Park"(A patch of woods accessible from Simpson St, which runs along the river). As expected, I quickly found the family, and all 7 chicks were still there...

The male immediately noticed me crouched in the bushes, with my camera. He began making a sound that I could tell meant "stay away from my chicks". He swam towards me, lifting his wings in a territorial display. I've seen him do this to Canada Geese in the past. Very protective dad...

The female quickly noticed her mate's behavior and turned around, leading her young downstream. The male continued to display at me, as his family swam until they were maybe 200 feet away. The male then took off in the direction of the female and chicks. The sound of a swan taking off and landing sounds like a machine gun, as it's massive wings smack the surface.

Even though mute swans are an invasive species, they haven't made much damage to the environment, and they aren't crowding out other waterfowl or anything like that. I hope a few of the cygnets survive.