The tide was out and as I approached the mill outflow I could see a black swan hunkered down on the exposed shingle. Native to Australia, black swans were introduced to Britain in 1791 as ornamental birds in captive wildfowl collections. Due to inevitable escapees and deliberate releases, sightings in the wild are widespread. Now, the number of breeding sites are increasing at such a rate that Cygnus atratus may be on the brink of establishing a self-sustaining population.
This was the fifth black swan to visit the creek in a fortnight and, as they often pair up during the winter months, it is likely that these birds were roaming in search of a mate. This swan didn’t sport the jet black velvet lustre of mature adult plumage – its sooty feathers had a charcoal grey cast and were fringed with taupe, which gave it an almost scaly appearance.
The swan’s greater wing coverts and tertials were broad and curled, so that when closed its wings were ruffled like a rah-rah skirt. The white flight feathers were almost completely concealed, leaving a narrow ribbon above the flank, and the dull tips suggested that this was a young adult, less than three years old. The sexes look similar, but this animal had the shorter, curvier, bill of a female.
She shuffled towards me, her garnet-coloured eyes fixed on the bag swinging in my hand. I crouched down and offered her a palmful of food. She lunged for the pellets, her waxy vermillion bill snapping with such force that they spilled across the ground.
Black swans have a reputation for dominant, aggressive, behaviour, but she shrank back as the resident mute swans stomped up the mud bank towards us, their eight well-grown cygnets waddling in their wake.
As the mob of mute swans clustered round me and jostled for a handout, the black swan inched forward to pluck a fallen pellet from between the stones. The mute cob turned on her and hissed a warning, his neck arched into an S shape, like a rearing cobra preparing to strike.
Black swans have been known to hybridise with mute swans, but it looked as though this Juliet was going to have to fly farther afield to find her Romeo.
