Prodigal Swan Returns to The Bishop’s Palace

Prodigal Swan Returns to The Bishop’s Palace

Exciting news on The Bishop’s Palace Moat in Wells this morning as a lone swan has been spotted swimming happily around.

Palace staff spotted the animal early this morning and believe it to by Wynn, the widowed Palace Swan who was last seen on 18th October 2018 when she took leave of the moat with her remining four cygnets.

It is thought that she has been living on the Somerset Levels with her juveniles, but that as they will now have started living independent adult lives, she has returned to her former home.

Wynn was the recipient of much media attention earlier this year when she was left widowed by the death of her life-partner Brynn whilst she was nesting. She battled on bravely and hatched 5 beautiful cygnets in May which she successfully reared to adulthood.

Wynn seemed happy to be back on the moat, happily feeding from Visitor Operations Team member Jane Lawrence’s hand this morning! Palace Staff are hopeful that Wynn will choose to return to her picturesque home full time but are also holding out hope that she might entice a new partner to share her home and breed some more cygnets.

Wynn and former life partner Bryn had lived at the Palace since 2013 when they travelled from Wales to take up residence in Wells. Wynn had successfully reared 45 cygnets since living at the Palace, and the swans and their cygnets have been an extremely well-loved feature of the Palace Moat, with tourists waiting to see the Gatehouse bell rung when the swans are hungry.

The tradition began in the 1850’s, when Bishop Eden’s daughter Maria, taught a pair of swans to ring a bell on the Gatehouse when they wanted to be fed.

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