Elon staff gathering for the annual staff day event were thrilled to find six new baby swans that had hatched overnight near the main entrance to the Center for the Arts.
The mother swan had built her nest in the pine needles near the west entrance to the building. Staff members watched as the mother proudly showed off the youngsters and groomed their down and her feathers.
The six cygnets made little peeping sounds as they waited for the seventh egg to hatch. The brood will make its home on Lake Mary Nellnext to the Center for the Arts.