Mistral's Love Triangle with Freedom and Braveheart

During her first two years in Dovercourt she has two mates but unfortunately both are killed and therefore for her own safety HEAT move her to the Dovercourt ponds in the summer of 2001 in the hope that after raising her five young safety she may naturally leave in the autumn months to look for a new home and new mate so as to make a new and hopefully happier life for herself.

In the event Liberty arrived in the October of 2001 and immediately struck up a relationship with Mistral, adopting her young until they naturally leave to find pastures new. In the January of 2002 Freedom, a Whooper swan, settled in the area; which is unusual as he should have been making his way from Scotland, where they often overwinter back to the Scandinavian countries or Baltic area from where they come.

Freedom hung around making advances towards Mistral who would put Liberty between herself and Freedom. Liberty tolerated him but would occasionally and half-heartedly get Freedom by the neck. During late winter and spring Mistral and Liberty would fly off together and disappear for weeks on end sometimes returning for brief periods, and with them a much older swan turned up who chased Liberty off and in May 2002 Mistral returned with the older male who tragically died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards when he misjudged a landing and overshot the pond.

Freedom then formed a relationship with Mistral adopting her young and bringing them up as if they were his own, although it is unknown whether he is the father and a union between a whooper and mute swan is a little unusual. That year Braveheart (a mute swam) arrives on the scene to become a rival to Freedom with for a while Mistral spending time with each. If Freedom chases Braveheart away he doesn't go far and it's not long before he's back with Mistral. Eventually Mistral leaves Freedom and Freedom brings up their young on his own until January of 2003 when they are old enough to look after themselves at which point he returns to the dyke to be with Mistral and her other mate, Braveheart. By the June of 2003 Freedom has muscled himself back In with Mistral and pushed Braveheart to one side, but not far as he tags along behind them all summer. All through the summer of 2003 this love triangle continues with neither Freedom nor Braveheart far from Mistral although it is suspected that Braveheart is the father of her young.

Over the coming years the three swans continue this relationship with Freedom often having the upper hand; helping Mistral make her nest and sitting with her on the nest leaving poor Braveheart on the water at the edge of the nest; until Mistrals eventual death from old age in the summer of 2007.

After Mistrals death Freedom (the Whooper swan) disappears, presumably he finally migrates to Scandinavia where he should have gone in the first place, and Braveheart settles down to a new life with a new mate on the ponds and dykes of Dovercourt.