CYGNETS TAKE CENTRE STAGE

THESE five-week-old cygnets are stealing the show in the cutest real life interpretation of Swan Lake.

The little family of swans enjoyed a quick dip in a lake at Riverwalk in Robina yesterday. Wild Bird Rescues manager Rowley Goonan said the hatchlings would stay close to mum and dad for another few weeks before leaving the nest.

“The adult swans will raise the cygnets until they’re about four and a half months old and they will become the parents from hell and drive the babies out of the territory,” he said.

“The parents will be very firm about it.

“The cygnets will be almost grown and will have to learn to survive out of the parental waterways.”

Mr Goonan said the cygnets would lose their light grey colouring for black feathers at about two months old.

“They’ll start with getting a few feathers and at about six months they’ll look just like their parents.

“People also should know not to feed them bread but lettuce or corn instead.”