As fall approached, I found myself looking toward the sky for the possibility of observing any migrating swans that might be alighting on the lake where I live in New Jersey. Throughout the spring and summer, a family of Mute Swans had made Packanack Lake their nesting habitat for the family to grow and mature. Throughout June and July a family of seven young cygnets had been born and raised by their respective parents, but by the end of July and into August, the family of nine had dwindled to only a family of six! Not only had the seven cygnets been reduced to five, but the male swan, the cob, had been murdered on the lake through a senseless attack by a youth. The remaining family continued on the lake quite peaceably into September. Fearing the worst for the female parent (pen) in that she might not once again find a mate, it so happened that in late September I observed a group of migrating mutes arriving on the lake. These new inhabitants included more than one male, and as they took temporary residence on the lake, they stayed quite active. As I observed them, they periodically took to the air as if to demonstrate to the young cygnets already living on the lake that this was their way to move on into the world... that flying was their next step into maturity. Late in the afternoon on a bright Tuesday, I ventured onto the lake with my canoe and camera, and after about 600 exposures and a lot of patience and concentration, I caught this single male lifting off of the water! Hopefully both the cygnets, and the widow, would follow.