Mother swan dies a week after hatching cygnets on Esplanade, officials say The Esplanade Association announced the death of the bird on Tuesday morning. The Esplanade swan family last week. David L Ryan/ Boston Globe The mother swan who hatched six cygnets on the Esplanade last week has died. “We’re saddened to report that the mother swan of the adorable Esplanade swan family passed away last night in her nest,” the Esplanade Association wrote Tuesday morning on Twitter. According to the nonprofit, Boston Animal Control removed the dead mother bird from the nest while the father swan “sat at the nest with their cygnets tucked under his wings.”