Hitching a ride! Heart-warming moment eight little cygnets cadge a lift by jumping on mother's back as she paddles in river
- The eight adorable cygnets scrambled into a space between their mother's wings on River Cam in Cambridge
- In one picture, just one of the cygnet's grey head is popping out from the white feathers of its mother
- Photographer James Linsell-Clark,42, captured the moment while working on the Garret Hostel Bridge
These heart-warming pictures show cygnets hitching a lift on their mother's back as they glide along a river.
The eight fluffy siblings took a break from the water and scrambled between their mother's wings.
The adorable cygnets then snuggle together as they travel downstream, before their mother starts to sink under their weight.
Cygnets on board: the cygnets took a break from paddling and hopped on their mother's back
The youngsters then sat back as their mum took them down the River Cam in Cambridge
But the fun couldn't last forever... eventually mother began to sink under the weight of her adorable babies and had to flip them off her back
Just one of the cygnet's grey head is popping out from its mother's white feathers in one of the pictures.
Photographer James Linsell-Clark saw the moment by chance on Friday while working on Garret Hostel Bridge, which crosses the River Cam in Cambridge.
The 42-year-old said: 'There were quite a lot of boats on the river. The bridge was also quite full and people were jostling to take pictures.
'They were quite excited about it.'
Photographer James-Linsell Clark captured the cygnets trip on their mother's back from under the Garret Hostel Bridge in Cambridge
James, from Cambridge, said he ran down to get a closer shot from under the bridge.
He added: 'When I got down a few of them were already on there.
'There was one little guy that was struggling to hop on.
'It went under the bridge and then it seemed to be sinking with the weight on them. It was getting low in the water.
'Not long after that she just flipped them off.'
In one of the pictures just one of cygnets grey head can be seen poking out from under its mother's wing
The swan glides down the river with her cygnets on-tow. Photographer James Lisell Clark captured the scene as he was working on the Garret Hostel Bridge
All aboard: the eight cygnets hitching a ride on their mother's back, before being taking down the river
The brothers and sisters, which appear to be no more than a week old, can be seen snuggling together between their mum's wings.
James said: 'The last time I saw a swan doing it was about two or three years ago.
'It was very cute.'
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