Summer is baby swan time at the Abbotsbury swannery in England, but this year, the tiny cygnets have made their debut two weeks earlier than usual! Don't worry, they'll be in good company — over the next six weeks, they'll be joined by close to 1,000 more sweet little ones. Click through for more cuteness!
A flock of fuzzy baby swans — or Cygnets as they are known to bird lovers — were spotted bonding with their new siblings and mother this week. The arrival of the Cygnets is believed to signal the start of Summer at the Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, England, where these babes were born. Local traditions say Benedictine Monks, who once owned the swannery, believed the first Cygnet signaled the season's first day. I say bring on the birds and sun! 
For a whole flock of fuzzy cuteness, read more
A different kind of lovebirds, swans are oft-associated with love since they allegedly mate for life. Is that factoid really true? Test yourself on this (and more!) in a Cygnus quiz. 
It’s time to get clever! A picture is worth a thousand words, but those messages vary from person to person. I think this picture is hilarious — what do you think of it? Suggest quotes or captions for this photo in your comments below, and I’ll do a roundup next week of some of my faves.
It was love at first sight for this unlikely couple of Petra, the (real-life) swan, and her giant plastic beau. Ever since the swan-shaped paddle boat was added to the Aasee lake in Germany in May 2006, she's happily paddled behind. So deep was her apparent love that local residents funded her trip (along with boat beau) to a pond in a Münster zoo last winter. Despite a number of available swans also in the zoo pond, there was no swaying Petra as she remained attached at the wing to her artificial sweetheart. This season, park officials have once again found it in their hearts to keep the lovebirds together – Petra, and her unresponsive love, will reside in a minishelter built for two beginning on Dec. 5.
