Mute Swans – the Graceful Aggressor

The curved neck and large, bright white body of the Mute Swan stands out on ponds and marshes around New England. Larger than any other New England waterfowl, the exclamation “out of place” couldn’t be more accurate. Mute Swans are in fact not native to North America; they were imported from Europe in the early 1900’s most likely in conjunction with the rise of industrial wealth and a pension for romantic Victorian gardens. Mute Swans (note that there are native North American swans) were brought over from Britain and Europe and released into gardens and as sedentary bird (migrating only during severe winters) remained on unfrozen water year round. Captive populations managed to “go wild” and establish breeding communities around New England, New York state, and the Great Lakes. Studies in the 1980s found Mute Swan populations climbing at an alarming rate. Because of this and their aggressive behavior towards other nesting waterfowl and their destructive feeding habits (eating the base of aquatic plants thus destroying important aquatic habitat) Mute Swans were labeled an “invasive species”. This “invasive” moniker has not only found Mute Swans in the crosshairs of State Fish and Wildlife agencies but also on the poster of animal rights groups and swan lovers across the country. 

Love for swans in nothing new and the bird holds a prominent place in Greek and Roman mythology. The swan was associated with the god Jupiter who took the bird’s form to seduce Leda creating Helen of Troy. The bird was also associated with Apollo and the Muses often in reference to music, funny for they are virtually silent or “mute” alleged to sing out beautifully in the moments before death giving us the adage “swan song”. In the popular Western psyche swans are a symbol of fidelity – for their habit of life long, monogamy and often associated with matrimony.

As the ponds and lakes around New England begin to break free of ice, watch for these massive birds glowing white on the dark waters. The history of the Mute Swan is complicated and like so much in nature it is not the animal to blame but rather our human hand’s reckless prying.

American goldfinch

In its dulled down winter plumage the American goldfinch surprises bird watchers at feeders and in the field this time of year. Rolling across New England in nomadic flocks the American goldfinch turns from eye-popping, sunshine yellow in the summer to a drab, off green in the winter. Known as “bimorphism” it is the most extreme plumage transformation of any New England finch. But look close at the tight formed body, less puffy than a sparrow, with its thick, seed-cracking bill, and striking white and black wings. Male goldfinches retain a sunset of yellow below their bill and behind their eye even in winter. Surviving on an almost exclusively seed diet goldfinches love thistle feeders or a thistle seed “sock” and when scared off the feeder fly away in a characteristic, bounding flight calling softly, "chewwwwy?" 

When a Crow is a Raven

The Common Raven is a large member of the crow family (corvidae) at home whirling over the canyon lands of the southwest and bedfellow to wolves around a moose carcass in the great white north. Ravens hold a permanent place in the collective modern psyche: trickster and stealer of the sun, the cause for poetry, story, and rhyme. In the northeast however ravens float around the edge of the urbanized world like cowboys peering in the window of the mall; not scared just unclear to the purpose of this place. Bird watchers in Southern New England rarely see these large black birds however, in the past decade the Common Raven has been gaining breeding ground in Massachusetts. In part due to the maturing forests, no longer logged for timber.

Finding a raven in Southern New England is still not easy, but knowing how to separate a crow and a raven can be. While in some ways a raven is large crow there are actually visual clues that can help you identify a raven without the lucky comparison of a crow sitting next to it. Ravens are rarely seen in numbers larger than two or three. Their large beaks give them a “big nose” look and their tails have a distinct wedge shape that a Crow’s does not. Watch also for the long “fingers” of the wing, primary flight feathers that reach out into the sky and seem to spread further apart than a crow’s. Voice is another give away. While crows produce an incredible array of caws, clicks, snaps, and barks the raven is best known for a booming, throaty “aaaawwwack”. Think of a baritone compared to a tenor. Ravens also nest very early, beginning in the late winter. Listen for the call and response between a pair of birds carrying large sticks. Finding a raven’s nest early can provide weeks of watching.