I discovered these two Mute Swans in a remote small lake located in the southern part of The Colony. Mute Swans are not native to our part of the country, so I suspect these are not wild birds.
This lake in not part of a park, and the swans would have little opportunity to interact with people. I did not observed either of these birds make an attempt to fly. They did immediately swim over to where I was standing as soon as they saw me. I could not judge from their actions what their intent was when they swam over to my location. Sibley’s Guide to Birds describes their posturing in some of my photographs as “distinctly aggressive.” The birds did not appear aggressive to me, but rather their behavior seemed more likely due to expecting food, or simply curiosity.
It is my assumption that these two birds represent a male and a female.
![I discovered these two Mute Swans in a remote small lake located in the southern part of The Colony. Mute Swans are not native to our part of the country, so I suspect these are not wild birds.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-001.jpg)
![The swans immediately swam over to where I was standing as soon as they saw me.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-003.jpg)
![This is the posture described by Sibley's Guide to Birds as being "distinctly aggressive"](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-002.jpg)
![The two swans followed me as I walked around the shoreline.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-004.jpg)
![It is my assumption that these two birds represent a male and a female.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-005.jpg)
![At no time did I observe either of these birds make an attempt to fly.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-006.jpg)
![At one point, one of the Mute Swans left the water to get closer to me.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-007.jpg)
![These are large, elegant looking birds (22lb/10kg).](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-008.jpg)
![I checked Google Maps just after making this observation. At that time, the two swans were visible on the satellite image of the lake at full magnification.](http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/muteswan-aprettypair-009.jpg)
Observation Details
County | – | Denton |
|
City | – | The Colony | |
Date | – | March 24, 2009 | |
Time of Day | – | Afternoon | |
Temperature | – | Cool (50-69°F/10-21°C) | |
Weather | – | Cloudy | |
Habitat | – | Water-Lake | |
Type of Behavior | – | Investigating | |
Gender | – | Uncertain | |
Maturity | – | Adult | |
Observer | – | Chris Jackson | |
Main Article | – | Mute Swan | Observation Location |