Feathered Friends: #SMaP Show Me A Photo Contest Round 224 - Bird/s and Water

I had a walk around one of the village ponds to check how the six little cygnets are doing. They are over two weeks old now and all are doing well. As swans are predominantly herbivores, the parents take the cygnets to a part of the pond where there's lots of weeds and algae, so they can dine out in that area.

A local angling club used to maintain the pond but we've had incidents where ducklings, chicks and cygnets have had health issues.

This is my entry to the #SMaP Show Me A Photo Contest Round 224 - Bird/s and Water.

The angling club used to put blue dye into the water claiming it doesn't hurt the birdlife. However, it does slow down the growth of algae and weeds, which are the birds' primary food source.

In the past, swans with cygnets have alternated between the two ponds searching for food. They've even walked the cygnets down to the village lido which is a long way for their little legs.

Anyway, the local council have stopped leasing it out to the angling club so no dye is being put into the water. The swan family have mainly stayed in this pond so there must be enough food now. It was good to see all six cygnets doing well.

Thank you to @nelinoeva and the @featheredfriends team for running the competition.