Is There a New Mute Swan Family or Not?

There is a mildly silly meme going around on Facebook about how many ducks are in the picture. Back in the real world, I've been watching the Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail for weeks now. The pair have produced a family for each of the last three years, and I've been watching their progress this year. A month or two ago they chased off their progeny from 2019, and the female disappeared for many weeks, no doubt watching her nest. The male spent most of his time chasing and harassing the Canada Geese who also inhabit the pond.

Then two days ago, the female reappeared, but I couldn't make out any young cygnets. It was the same when I saw the pair again today, but I took a picture anyway. Later I looked at the picture again, and now I ask, "Is there a new Mute Swan family this year or not?"

As far as the silly duck meme is concerned, it's sixteen. Really.

Mute Swans on the Tuolumne River: The Baby is Alright

It's been kind of a bittersweet year for the Mute Swans on the Tuolumne River where I walk most days. They had four cygnets last year, and three survived to adulthood. The kids moved on, but the parents remained at the quarry lake that has been their home for a number of years. This year they had only two babies, but one disappeared after only a few weeks.

The pair took the surviving baby onto the big river today, and I admit I was a little concerned. The river is flowing twenty times normal, at 6,000 cubic feet per second, and the current quickly swept them downstream and out of sight. I worried that the baby wouldn't be able to fight the current back to their home pond.

I'm happy to report that when I returned from my walk 90 minutes later that the swans were back in the pond and the baby was with them.

More Bird Babies to Report: Mute Swans on the Tuolumne River

I've been secretly a tiny bit worried for the past few days. There has been a pair of Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) living in the pond across from the west end of the Tuolumne River Trail for at least three years now. It's probable that they are domestic (Mute Swans are not native to North America; many are escaped "ornamental" birds), but this pair has been reproducing each spring, with four cygnets last year, three of whom survived to adulthood. For several weeks, the only swan visible was the male, who was doing a lot of territorial defense with the local Canada Geese, while the female presumably was nesting. But then even the male seemed to disappear.

This week my surveillance contact on the bluffs reported that the swans were back in action and they were trailing a little one! Mrs. Geotripper and I had to go down and check it out, zoom lenses in hand. At first we could only see the one cygnet staying really close to mama, but then then she turned and we saw the second little one.

We'll look in every so often to see how they are doing...

The Babies are All Grown: Mute Swans on the Tuolumne River

There was something new in the sky above the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail this morning. Large graceful birds were gliding over the water, and it took me a moment to realize who they were. The baby Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) have taken to flying!

I've been following this bird family ever since the late winter or early spring when the cygnets made their first appearance on the pond across from the western trailhead off Reinway Avenue in Waterford. The original brood included four babies, but one disappeared as the weeks rolled by. The other three thrived and are now nearly fully grown.

There is a certain ambivalence about the presence of Mute Swans here in the valley. They are not native to the region and are instead the offspring of European ancestors who were brought to America to be accessories in the landscaping of rich estates. The escapees have caused problems because they are voracious consumers of water plants (pounds per day) to the detriment of other freshwater bird species. I've suspected that the parents of these birds have clipped wings simply because I've never seen them flying except for a semi-gliding motion when chasing off of Canada Geese.

My last picture of the "teen-agers" was a chance capture of them flying above their water-bound parents. That's got to be a metaphor for something or another.

The Ugly Ducklings are Doing Okay: Watching the Mute Swans Grow on the Tuolumne River

There's a pair of Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) who live in a quarry pond across the river from the west end of the Tuolumne Parkway Trail. They've been there for at least three years, and although they could be domestic, they've been freely raising young ones.

Last year they had four nestlings, but only one of them survived to adulthood. It was kind of heartbreaking to watch them for weeks and seeing fewer cygnets following mom and dad on the pond. It wasn't for lack of effort by the parents. I've seen the parents aggressively driving off Canada Geese and other larger birds from the pond area.

So far this year has been different. There were four cygnets again, but after several months three of them have survived, and seem to be getting large enough to fend for themselves (see the top picture).

As I've pointed out in previous posts, Mute Swans produce ambivalent feelings among birders and ecosystem managers. They are beautiful birds, the subject of myths and legends, especially in European culture. But that is because they are native to Europe. They were brought to America as domestic waterfowl, part of the landscaping for rich estates. But as usually happens some escaped and established feral populations, and as such they have caused a lot of damage by eating up much of the available forage, and displacing other species. There have been many efforts in the eastern United States to control their populations. Permits are needed to own these swans in California because of their potential in damaging natural habitats. For the time being, there are only a few showing up on the EBird reports in the region (Dawson Lake has been another dependable spot for seeing them). 

The Mute Swans on the Tuolumne River have Produced Another Family

The Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) on the Tuolumne River have produced a family. I've been watching the swans for a couple of years; they live in an old quarry pond across the Tuolumne River at the west end of the Tuolumne Parkway Trail in Waterford. They have apparently always been a pair, and last year they had three or four cygnets. I think that only one survived in the end, and eventually it left for other places. Then, for the last couple of months I've only seen one swan. I assumed (or hoped) that the other was tending a nest somewhere in the thickets along the pond. It turns out that I was right because earlier this week both swans could be seen in river Tuolumne River next to the pond, and they were trailing cygnets! There were four of them.

Mute Swans produce ambivalent feelings among birders and ecosystem managers. They are beautiful birds, with many myths and legends, especially in European culture. That is because they are native to Europe. They were brought to America as domestic waterfowl, part of the landscaping for rich estates. But of course many escaped and established feral populations, and as such they have caused a lot of damage by eating up much of the available forage, and displacing other species. There have been many efforts in the eastern United States to control their populations. I don't know what they are doing in California about them. For the time being, there are only a few showing up on the EBird reports in the region (Dawson Lake has been another dependable spot for seeing them).