MANLIUS -- Onlookers were treated to a first look at newly hatched baby swans in Manlius on Tuesday morning.
The cygnets were first spotted Monday afternoon by Manlius Department of Public Works employees.
So far, 4 cygnets have been seen poking their heads out of the nest in a wooded area behind the Manlius Swan Pond.
According to Syracuse.com, one of the baby swans died shorty after when it fell out the nest. A DPW worker tried to save the swan but was unable to.
Parents Manny and Faye were keeping a close watch over their newest family members.
This is the second batch of eggs for the swans. The first batch was destroyed by a vandal last April.
After that incident, the village put up protective fencing and video surveillance equipment around the Swan Pond.
The leader of the volunteer group called the Manlius Swan Patrol, Laurie Vendetti, says volunteers have spent hundreds of hours patrolling the Swan Pond to help protect the eggs.
"We started the patrols immediately after Faye laid her first egg on May 11th. We went into our patrol mode twenty-four, seven and have been continuing since then," says Vendetti.
Manlius's Mayor Mark-Paul Serafin says the birth of this latest batch of baby swans is a tribute to a lot of people in the village.
"They symbolize everything that is great about the village of Manlius. You get knocked down, you get back up. Those swans were dealt a horrible blow. They regrouped, they laid more eggs and now we have cygnets," says Mayor Serafin.
