One is the loneliest number.....

Five years ago when I discovered the swans on a pond at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, there were a pair trying to start a family.

Over the years I watched the pair lose nest after nest to predators and flooding. But through trial and error they finally successfully raised first two chicks, and then last year, they raised six, although I can't verify if all the little ones made it to adulthood.

Swans are not solitary creatures. You always see them in pairs and they mate for life. While nesting, mom sits on the nest and Dad chases predators and other birds and animals away.

This year there is just one solitary swan; a lonely sight. I can't tell if it is one of the pair or a baby returning to it's home site. I hope it's the later and that he (or she) finds a mate soon.