Swan pair in Iceland adopt a couple of goslings

A swan pair in Mýrdalur, South East Iceland have adopted two goslings whom they are raising along with their two cygnets.

Birna Viðarsdóttir who lives nearby their usual nesting place reported this on her Facebook page. Speaking to mbl.is she says that she's observed the pair for years as they always come back to the same nest at the same time. "I saw the swans swimming on the pond with these four youngsters. It's really nice."

She also tells mbl.is that last year, one cygnet got left behind as the pair moved on. "He was so cute that I took him to this lady who lives in Hella and was raising other chicks, so he grew up there with her."

"There's usually a pair of geese waiting for the swans to leave their nest and then they lay eggs in it," Viðarsdóttir explains.

She adds that she hasn't seen any geese in the area, only their young and it seems that the swans have adopted them. "They follow their new family wherever they go. I wonder how they will do this summer, because goslings walk a bit slower and are a bit smaller. I hope the rest will just slow down a little and wait for them."