Deborah Pearse, Swan Life (Wildlife and Animal 2019)

After a long time of nest sitting the Black Swans have hatched six cygnets. Although cygnets can feed and swim as soon as they're born, the threats to their survival are many. Threats include eels, foxes and wild dogs and birds of prey. Parents are fiercely protective and the cygnets grow remarkably quickly but stay with their parents until they fledge at about nine months old.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.