Thirty metres east of Jacob and Penny’s nesting spot, Prince Siegfried and Odette have set up a nest amongst a garden bed within the grassed foreshore.
27th July 2019: Visited the nest, Prince Siegfried on the nest. He will not let you near the eggs!
29th July 2019: Prince Siegfried proudly sits on the nest. Odette has had five eggs!
31st July 2019: Prince Siegfried and Odette.
2nd August 2019: Prince Siegfried and Odette.
6th August 2019: Prince Siegfried and Odette.
8th August 2019: Visited Prince Siegfried and Odette today. The couple have been diligently sitting on the nest on a roster system. Incubation period has been about 13 days, therefore, 29 days to go.
10th August 2019: The couple have been minding the nest well.
12th August 2019: Prince Siegfried and Odette.
14th August 2019: Prince Siegfried and Odette very distressed three eggs have been taken. Were five eggs, now only two eggs.
17th August 2019: We have been away for a couple of days. It was sad to inspect Prince Siegfried and Odette’s nest to find all the eggs have been taken and the couple abandoning the nest.
The initial nest on 26th July 2019 had three eggs and by the 29th July 2019 Odette had laid a total of five eggs.
By 14th August 2019 only two eggs remained, a total of three eggs were missing from the nest.
All eggs were taken by 17th August 2019. Unlikely to be foxes from inspection of the area. Sadly everything points to human involvement to be the cause.
22nd August 2019: We had a pleasant surprise today. We found Odette back on the nest which was abandoned last week after all the eggs were taken. While Odette showed us there are no eggs, it is likely she might be having another run at laying eggs. Here’s to the couple!
23rd August 2019: We are delighted Odette has produced an egg in their reclaimed nest. As we have reported the couple had a sad ordeal with eggs being taken from the nest on two occasions. We have now ascertained that the perpetrator, a man (described to be Asian in appearance) took the remaining eggs on the night of 14th August 2019 at around 10pm. The person that witnessed the crime said the perpetrator savagely attacked the couple swans to move them on so he could take the eggs. This is a pathetic act. It should be remembered black swans are protected in Victoria and penalties do apply for a range of offenses against them and their habitat.
24th August 2019: It is good to see the couple protecting their second run of eggs. If you have been following our blog you will be aware the couples’ first five eggs were taken and the nest subsequently abandoned following the stressing ordeal. They are back with one new egg so far!
25th August 2019: A joyous day today. Found Odette on the nest and she now has a second egg! Prince Siegfried is keeping watch over his family.
26th August 2019: We reported yesterday that Odette had a second egg and a photograph was provided. If you have been following the couple you will know they have had five eggs taken from their nest. Sadly, overnight their two current eggs have also been taken. It is highly likely by the same human perpetrator. The black swan and their habitat are protected by law pursuant to the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic). Given the blatant offences to wildlife, we ask the community to keep an eye on our swan families and report any suspicious behaviour to the Police. In addition, it is an offence for dogs and cats to attack (which includes: rush, attack, bite, worry or chase) wildlife and the owner is guilty of an offence.
28th August 2019: Nest abandoned, after two nesting sessions and seven eggs taken, Prince Siegfried and Odette have given up. We must be more vigilant in protecting these wonderful birds.
