Rescuing baby black swans - Western Australia

Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are doing well. 

Here in the south west of Western Australia it has been baby black swan rescue time again. 

This is something I only heard about in February. Every year the Geographe Bay Wildlife Rescue in Busselton, in the south west of Western Australia, rescue black swan cygnets that have been abandoned by their parents, feeding and raising them, and then returning them to waterways, including the Leschenault Estuary near where I live. 

Why is this necessary? The below information is from an article from ABC.net - ABC.net-Hundreds of cygnets found stranded at sea

An increasingly dry climate is forcing adult birds to abandon their young in search of a better food source, leaving flocks of baby swans, known as cygnets, to fend for themselves.

When cygnets are abandoned by their parents, they often migrate away from wetlands in search of water, finding themselves in the ocean and unable to fly against strong winds or swim against currents.

It is up to volunteers, in collaboration with wildlife organisation Geo Bay Wildlife Rescue, to head out to sea and scoop them up, with the team being called out on a daily basis.

In early February volunteer, Mr Fish says they had rescued 200 so far this year, with last season seeing 400 cygnets rescued.

Incredibly, when we went down to the beach to watch the Australia Day fireworks, near the outlet from the Leschenault Estuary into Koombana Bay in Bunbury, in the fading light we saw a group of swans swimming on the ocean. We couldn't see them clearly but we couldn't understand why they were there. It was only a few days later that we saw an interview on our TV news about the cygnet rescue program. Evidently this has been happening for nearly 60 years. This group of cygnets was evidently lost. I now wonder what happened to them. There is no feed for them along the ocean coast. 

A few weeks later we heard that fledged cygnets were being released into the Leschenault Estuary so we went around to  try and see them. We could see swans far out in the middle of the estuary but then a flock of them took off near the bank, where we hadn't seen them, when we stopped our car. Some stayed around, I think these little guys weren't fully fledged yet to fly. 

Here are some photos. 

With thanks to the Geo Bay Wildlife Rescue and similar organisations, it was beautiful to see these black swans living free in their natural environment. 

To find out more, and how you can help them continue the wonderful work they do, not only with black swans but also other wild animals, go to -  

Geo Bay Wildlife Rescue on Facebook

Here is a video so you can learn more -

A few facts for you -

The black swans scientific name, Cygnus atratus, means 'a swan attired in black.'

The Noongar name for the black swan in Western Australia is Maali (also spelled Mali or Marlee)  

Other Indigenous names across Australia include Koltjak, Barayamal (Gamilaraay), Kunuwara (Yartwatjali/Tjapwurrung/Djadjawurrung), and Kaylarunya in Tasmania

Story from Aboriginal Dreamtime. ''The black swan was once white. Long ago all swans were white. They boasted of how beautiful they were until the eagle became angry and attacked the swans. In the process the swans lost most of their feathers and cried they were cold. Crow took pity on the swans, removing feathers from his own back to cover the swans. The feathers became implanted however some white feathers remain to forever remind swan that he was once white''

Black swans are found throughout most of Australia, particularly in the southwest and southeast regions, inhabiting wetlands, lakes, rivers, and estuaries. They are most common in areas with permanent water and aquatic vegetation. 

The Swan River in Western Australia's capital city Perth, was named in 1697 by Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh who called it Swarte Swaene-Revier (Swan River) due to the abundance of black swans he encountered. The area was known to the Noongar people as Derbarl Yerrigan, and the city of Perth was founded along the river in 1829.

The official state bird emblem of Western Australia is the black swan. It features on our state flag. 

This photo below I took of a nesting pair in the middle of a Perth park a couple of years ago. The mother hustled the cygnets under her wings and I think that's the father floating nearby. 

I hope you have enjoyed this post about black swans. 

More information at: Australian Museum - black swans

Geo Bay Wildlife Rescue on Facebook

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

If you are looking for a translate button - it's there near the top on the right hand side. 
   

Mosaic Monday @ Soul & Mind & So On

Saturdays Critters - Viewing Nature With Eileen

Peabea's Pictorial Tuesday

Travel Tuesday

Talking About It Tuesdays @ Slices of Life

ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 

H2O Thursday
Nature Thursday

Sky Watch Friday

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Until then, enjoy your day...Life only comes around once, so do what makes you happy, be kind, and be with people who make you smile.