Beautiful Blossoming Episode I: A Special Tribute to Nora and James

Nora and James were a young swan couple that made their home on the lagoon of Boston Esplanade in 2021 and 2022, right across from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They were raising a family in 2022. The episode captures their joy at their first egg and how James, the first-time father-to-be, responded to the egg. As their eggs hatched, Nora and James had to cope with a stress unique to the Esplanade, the invasive “fondness” from humans. Despite all the distractions, the two first-time parents delivered exceptional care for their cygnets: all baby swans survived their first two weeks, a critical period in the life of a swan. The tragedies however started to strike the family at midnight of June 23/24—perfectly after the two-week mark—and culminated on June 27, when both Nora and James were found paralyzed on the water. The episode details the last hours of Nora and James struggling on the Boston Esplanade; it also shows the five orphan cygnets supporting each other in a mature, organized way in the face of the family catastrophe, all on a grim and rainy day.