Abbotsbury Bounces Back?

News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2008/05/16/abbotsbury_swannery_2008_feature.shtml) that that Dorset-based swannery which suffered an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian 'flu (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2005/bird_flu/default.stm) currently has 'record numbers of cygnets' is encouraging. It is claimed to show that more than Barnes Wallis' dam buster's bomb can 'bounce back' on the Fleet lagoon (the device was tested there before the World War 2 attack on the Ruhr dams). It must, of course, be noted that the numbers of cygnets produced is to a large extent dependent on the management of the swans (in terms of nest sites provided, failures to remove 'surplus' eggs, encouragement of efficient breeding pairs to take on extra eggs etc) because in some years (given the limited capacity of the site), productivity has been deliberately restricted. The claim that the swans have developed 'immunity to the disease' seems a touch optimistic. This news story interestingly has emerged at the start of the Centre's 'visitor season' and presumably will help ensure that people are not put off from coming to see the swan flock.