The animal welfare charity was alerted to the issue last month and had been monitoring the family closely as rain was forecast and local residents were providing food and water.
However, following insufficient rainfall to replenish the ponds it said the situation was no longer sustainable and stepped in to catch and relocate the swans, who have “settled in well,” SSPCA added.
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Locals, including pupils from Victoria Primary School, helped to feed and water the birds over several weeks. The charity said the community’s intervention was vital.
“By working together, we were able to monitor the swans and step in at the right time to give them the best chance to thrive,” a spokesperson said.
“We are grateful to the local community who did an incredible job supporting this swan family.
“Our Animal Welfare Officers attend a huge number of jobs every day and simply can’t be everywhere at once, so the help of local people providing food, water and generally looking out for the birds was vital.”
The Western Harbour’s ponds have been at the centre of a years-long community campaign aiming to prevent the land they sit on from being developed. Originally intended for residential development, the project was abandoned after the 2008 financial crash and the abandoned construction sites unexpectedly transformed into a thriving wetland habitat.
Ditches left behind by halted building projects have filled with water over time, creating ponds that now support a surprising variety of wildlife – from waterfowl and amphibians to insects and plant life – turning once-derelict plots into an accidental urban oasis.
Plans by FM Developments are proposing to restart the process of preparing the plots for development into flats, which include keeping the ponds. Campaigners, however, say these will still lead to substantial loss of woodlands where many birds nest.
The Save the Western Harbour Ponds group said in a statement: “No doubt the landowner and prospective developer are revelling in seeing the water level so low and the swans relocated.
“They’re hoping the situation created by this summer’s exceptionally hot and dry weather will prove that the plots are nothing more than land for development.
“However, far from playing into the hands of the landowner and developer, we believe that recent events have served to strengthen the case for retaining all of the Western Harbour Ponds area as a valuable, much-loved greenspace for people and nature.”
“The way in which supporters, schoolchildren and locals rallied to support the swans shows how strong the sense of connection is with this place and its wildlife. It demonstrates just how valuable urban pockets of self-willed land such as this can be in connecting and engaging people with nature on their doorstep. In making people talk and care about climate and biodiversity.
“With a touch of careful habitat management, this place can and should continue to thrive as an urban oasis for nature, for people and for climate. That remains our vision.”
The group said while it was “pleased to see them [the swans] settle in a pond with plenty of water surface for the cygnets to strengthen their wings, we were disappointed not to have been notified in advance of when the move would take place, as we’d asked for in our communications with the SSPCA case officer”.
It added: “We also have some concerns around their vulnerability to dogs and foxes, given they’re used to being behind a fence.
“We hope to continue our dialogue with the SSPCA on this and other aspects of their welfare, and hope to be kept informed. Who knows whether some or all of them may return in future, once the turning of the season has brought more rain.