Hand-reared swan reunited with owner after they couldn’t bear to be apart

A hand-reared cygnet has been reunited with the man who nursed him back to health after he was left for dead earlier this year.

Sidney the swan was just a day old when he was discovered near Jones Boatyard in St Ives, Cambridgeshire in May and taken into Rob Adamson’s care.

The newborn bird had been abandoned by its mother and attacked by an animal, leaving two large wounds on its neck.

Mr Adamson, who lives on a boat on-site, looked after the tiny cygnet for a period of around seven weeks, taking him on boat rides, shopping trips and even cuddling him in bed.

In July, he decided to give Sidney to RSPCA so he could integrate with other swans.

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But what the 39-year-old didn’t expect was a phone call from animal rescuers three months later – telling him that the swan missed him too much and asking him to take him back.

‘I couldn’t bear to be without him and he clearly missed me too,’ Mr Adamson said.

‘When cygnets are away from their parents they can become really distressed. He tried to adapt to being a swan while he was away but he just wanted to be back on the boat.

‘I think he must have been too used to his home comforts. It was just magical seeing him back in the boatyard, it means everything to me considering all that we have been through.

‘It was just the perfect end to our story.’

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Sidney was first found in May by a marina worker, who spotted him while mowing the grass at Jones Boatyard.

Mr Adamson then took him and nursed him to health with special swan food and green peas – now his favourite snack.

The cygnet quickly adapted to his new life well and even became friends with the marina’s chihuahua, Sophie.

‘I have a little box next to my bed that he is meant to sleep in but he wouldn’t have any of that,’ Mr Adamson said.

‘He is not happy unless he is cuddling up to me and then he can fall asleep straight away.

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‘I pick him up and he falls asleep. If it’s a bit chilly then he will curl up in the corner of my jacket quite happily.’

Mr Adamson decided to give Sidney to the East Winch RSPCA wildlife centre in Norfolk in July once he was old enough to feed himself.

But three months later, they called to ask if he could take Sidney back.

And it seems pair have fallen back into their old lifestyle together – with the swan immediately recognising his former owner’s distinctive whistle and rushing over to him.

‘I am just over the moon because if he had been released somewhere else I would never have seen him again,’ Mr Adamson said.

‘I whistled at him as I would do when I was outside and trying to get his attention and he whistled back rushed over to me.

‘I felt like a proud father seeing him come home. I am so grateful for everything that has happened and for the amazing RSPCA.

‘How often do you get to rescue a baby cygnet from death, raise him and see him grow into a beautiful swan?’