Bonnie and Clyde are getting comfortable on the lake. They’ve been here about six weeks now.  When they were first released from their pen, they made a beeline for the cove near Lake Lodge. They hid out in the reeds and foliage for a few days, but soon they emerged and started exploring the east end of the lake. Soon they found Big Creek and from there they have branched out to explore the main part of the lake. They have managed to check out most everything along the shoreline on both sides of the lake up to about the Marina. Each night they retreat back towards Big Creek and re-emerge the next morning.

Sometimes you can see what looks like two white puff-balls floating motionless in the middle of the lake. Those are the swans sleeping with their heads tucked under their wings. They are never more than a few feet apart. If they get separated, they are quite agitated until they are back together. Ah, true swan love!

The breeder told us that swans are curious and will eventually make it all around the lake and only then will they select their favorite area to build their nest. We have no control over their selected nest location so keep an eye out; maybe you will be the first to discover their new “home.”

We have been asked how to tell the male from the female. First, Clyde, the male, is slightly larger than Bonnie, the female. If they are close together the difference is rather obvious. You can also tell them apart by the “knob” on their beaks. At the point where the upper bill approaches their eyes there is a “knob.”  The knob on the male is larger than the knob on the female. By the way, the male is called a cob, and the female is called the pen.

Here’s a little swan history: The mute swans are the Royal birds of England. In fact all mute swans in England are the property of the Monarchy. There is even a “Royal Swan Keeper” who reports directly to the Queen. In days gone by it was a capital offense to harm a royal swan. Each year there is a “swan upping.” This is a major event where every mute swan is counted in the country and new swans have their I.D. number etched into their upper bill. Hence the name, swan upping.

Mute swans were brought to the Americas a few hundred years ago to aid in the communications between England and the “colonies.”  And no, they were not used as homing pigeons. More on that story next time.

Please enjoy viewing the swans from a distance, and above all, do not feed them!