Shipyard Swans - May 23, 2016.
Meet the Shipyard Swans! I've been watching this pair of mute swans try to get a nest together for weeks now. I think this is the same pair that staked out this area last year but never did produce a nest. They have chosen the wetland just east of the dry dock area of the former Collingwood Shipyards to build their nest. If you have followed my photo chronicles of nesting swans the last couple of years you'll have seen how precarious waterfront nests are. Storms, high winds, waves, and rising water levels all take their toll on these fragile structures. This pair, although they were late building their nest, seem to have chosen well. This once industrial land has not yet been developed and is becoming a viable wetland. It is protected from humans by a chain link fence, and buffered from rough waters by a concrete break wall. I have high hopes this nest will last through the incubation period!
