Sexy, sexy swans
This afternoon.There were three, actually, and they were flapping and chasing each other. I don’t know if that’s normal swan interaction or mate selection or what. Wikipedia says:
Swans famously mate for life, and typically bond even before they reach sexual maturity. Trumpeter swans, for example, who can live as long as 24 years and only start breeding at the age of 4–7, form monogamous pair bonds as early as 20 months. “Divorce”, though rare, does occur; one study of mute swans showing a 3% rate for pairs that breed successfully and 9% for pairs that do not.
So, swan divorce? Who knows.
It’s not unheard of to see a gathering of swans in a field. I once saw so many, I lost count at around thirty. Hit the link for a discussion of swan-upping. A sheep farmer told me the swans gather when it’s going to be unusually cold inland (coming to the coast for warmth), but wrong time of year.
Posted: April 13th, 2023 under animals, birds.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: April 13, 2023, 11:22 pm
I hope you have more babies, too! And post photos!
As a kid in Connecticut I used to see swans frequently swanning around on Dodge Pond just down the street. Here in Sarasota County we’ve got zilch in the way of swans. We have to make do with egrets and herons and wood storks and roseate spoonbills and ibises and… I suppose that’s because swans tend to swim out in the middle of bodies of water; down here that can be thought of as dead smack in the center of the alligator dining room table. Those other birds are smart enough to stay in the shallows around the edges.
Comment from Durnedyankee
Time: April 13, 2023, 11:31 pm
Had a reenactment one time near a pond where some very polite geese and ducks were constantly being assaulted by a singular swan.
Not sure who was on which side, but we concluded the swan was asshoe.
Pretty bird, but noisy and rude.
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