Mute swans muscling way in along Lake Ontario
I have always read that mute swans are “sedentary” birds. That is, they tend to stay in the same area year-round, moving only as far as necessary to find open water in winter.
A state project that put neck bands on some of these invasive, non-native birds to track their movements has definitely confirmed that.
“What we did learn from the neck collar sightings is that these really are very sedentary animals, with only birds along the Hudson River moving any significant distances between seasons,” says Bryan L. Swift, leader of the game bird unit at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Wildlife in Albany.
In fact, “birds banded along Lake Ontario (at Irondequoit Bay or Braddock Bay) were most sedentary,” Swift reports.
For example, of the 28 swans banded in those two locations, 24 were subsequently seen and reported at least once.
However, only one of the birds was ever reported more than 30 miles from the banding site. “That bird was seen on Lake Ontario west of Toronto,” Swift says.
“All other sightings of these birds were along the lake shore between Braddock Bay and Sodus Bay, or were within the Irondequoit Creek watershed in Monroe County,” he says. “We had no reports of these birds moving south (for example, to any of the Finger Lakes) even during harsh winters.”
Another finding: Based on observed collars, the annual survival rate of mute swans, once they fledge, is very high, about 87 percent.
That’s not good news for anyone, including myself, who is concerned that these non-native birds are overrunning scarce marsh and wetland habitat, driving out native waterfowl with their aggressive defense of breeding territories, and uprooting vegetation that waterfowl rely on during migration.
These identifying collars, which are also used on geese and other swans, are like auto license plates. Each collar has its own unique combination of letters and numerals, so that individual birds can be tracked.
The birds shown in this photo were banded at Irondequoit Bay on Aug. 8, 2006.
EJ06 was subsequently at Hamlin Beach State Park in April 2008.
Another mute swan has been reported as a successful breeder in the Braddock Bay area (Cranberry Pond) in 2008 and 2009, “which is unfortunate because the population around Lake Ontario has grown rapidly and we would like to see the numbers go down,” Swift notes.
Though the mute swan study is largely completed, Swift would still be interested in receiving reports of where various mute swans with neck bands are being found.
Include the exact sequence of letters and numbers on the tag, date and location, how many other mute swans were with the neckbanded bird, and any other interesting observations.
Information can be e-mailed to fwwildlf@gw.dec.state.ny.us (put Mute Swan on the subject line) or mailed to: Bryan L. Swift, Leader, Game Bird Unit, NYSDEC Bureau of Wildlife, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4754.
For more information, and another link for forwarding sightings, go to www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7076.html.
Bob Marcotte writes The Word on Birds blog at php.DemocratandChronicle.com/blog/birds.
