A Lone Swan is a Lonely Swan

Swans are Social Birds.
They Behave Differently with a Companion or Mate.

Swan will Live Alone – But….

Click Images to Enlarge

Lone Swans can be Captive or Feral.. They are Alone.

This Female Mute was a Discarded Pet.

March 2024  – I can not Think of my Life without the Swans..
I have been Loving and Caring for Swans for 20 Years..

In Fact February 18, 2024 was 20 Years to the Day
I Encountered my first Swan. February 18, 2004.

She was a Discard Pet that was spending her Days
at a nearby Boat Launch along the Susquehanna River.
She was Alone and seemed so Sad..

Thanks to the Internet,
I did some Searches and started to Learn about Swans..

My Love of Swans was firmly set when in 2005
a BIG, Wonderful Mute Male flew into our Area
and Pair-Bonded with her.. I was Hooked..

There have been MANY Adventures since then..

This Female Lived for Four Year Alone on the River.
Literally, “Out of the Blue” a Mature Mute Cob Flew into our River System.
He Found the Lonely Pen.. They Bonded Quickly.
It was Wonderful to Witness their Happy Union.

Now SunRises were Delightful.
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A Lone Feral Male Swan on a Large River System.***************************************

A Skittish Young Female Mute Alone on another River System.

A Different River – A Different Female Mute.
After Several Weeks Alone she Disappeared.
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A Captive Bred-Released Trumpeter Swan Travels Alone.
It took Weeks to Gain his Trust.

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This Feral Swan came from some place Up River.
Joining with Two other Swans Living in this Area..

One of her Companions was Seriously Injured.
Her other Companion was Shot.

This Feral Swan was Alone for over Six Months.

During the Winter we Visited her with Food every Day.
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After 23-24 Years Together his Brother Died. 
At 24 Years Old, the Cob Accepted an 18 Month Old Female.

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This Mute Cob is Full Wing…
He Flies from Pond to Pond..All over the Area.
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Pinioned – his Female was Full Wing – she Flew Away.
Now he is ALL Alone on a BIG Pond.
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A Raccoon Killed his Female…They had been Together for Many Years.
He would Flirt when I came to Visit.
Lonely – He Walked Away from his Property.. Gone.
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This Mute Cob is Living Alone.
His Female was Shot.. He Never Accepted another Female.
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Sold with his Sister – Both had been Poorly Fed…
Severely Under Weight – She Died.
With a Proper Diet he becomes a BIG Health Cob.This Cob and his New Pen Shared Years of their Lives Together.
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We Moved our Young Rescued Cygnet to his New Home.
We were Arranging for Two Females to Join Him.

His New Companions are Being Treated for an Illness.

“Meadow” was a VERY Lonely Cygnet..
There is NO Way to Tell this Very Lonely Cygnet,
We Hope “They Girls” will be Well Soon.
Finally Happy Together.
We were Lucky our Threesome was together for 8 Years.
They had Known One Another since they were 6 Months Old.
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A Companion Sister was Killed. Alone for many Months.
Finally A Companion.
But Not a Mate.
Yes, there are Two Swans on the Pond.
But they are Both Males !
This Relationship will be Troubled.
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This Young Female was Chased Away from her Family.
We had No Way to Catch a Full-Wing Swan on the River.
There are Too many Rocks and Shallow Place for a Boat.
Kayaks and Canoes are Too Slow.
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A Feral Male Swan Living Along a Local Creek.

A Feral Swan Wandering from Place to Place has little Support.After Months Alone he Disappeared.
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This Mute Cob is Singing into the Air.
  Hoping Another Swan will Hear him.
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A Mature Rogue Female Swan Stole her Male.We Moved this Young Female to a Safer Home.

In a Few Weeks she will be Introduced to a Male.
She will be a Happy Swan Again.They Nested the Following Spring.
We Lost this Beautiful Pen a Few Days after her Cygnet Hatched..
Now the Cob was Alone Again. 

Dear little “Puppy” did not Survive..
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This Female was Alone – Her Mate had been Killed.
She Welcomed a Young Male.
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She has Company Again.
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These Females Lost their Male Companion-Mates.

This Female Mute Swan is Telling the Dock Post
“I Like You.”

She has been Alone for close to Two Years.

This Gentle Female Died Alone.
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Several Days Ago.. Her Mate Died.

She is Alone for the First time in Five Years.

Alone No More. A Female Cygnet is her New Companion.

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Not Pinioned this Young Swan Flew Away.******
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There were Ducks and Friendly People at the Marina.
A Hunter Eventually Shot this Swan.
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Her Companions LEFT their Safe Pond.
She Sits Alone – Waiting for their Return.
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Even with Lots of Feathered Ducks – She was So Lonely.
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First her Female Companion Died.
Then her Rescued Male Companion Died from Injuries.
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She has Lots of Feathered Friend..

Finally, we Arrange for her to Move to a New Home.
The Mate of the young Pen below was Killed.
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The Young Pens are Surprised to See Each Other.
We Brought Treats for the Girls.
Their Upper Necks are Puffed-Up with Happiness.
YEAH ! !
It Only took a Short Time for these Pens to Become Best Friends.
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 A Mute Cob is Facing the Winter Months Alone.

A Paddling of Ducks are his Only Companions.
We Tried to Rescue him – No Luck..
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This Young Female was Alone for Over a Year.
“At least they have Feathers.”

We Introduced our Rescued Male
and they were Great Company for each Other.
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Some Lone Swans will Seek Companionship from Ducks and Geese.They want to have Companions to Preen with – Sit with.

She is Nesting on an Island..  Fairly Safe.

A Female Nesting Alone is Very Vulnerable.
She will be VERY Vulnerable to Predators.

She needs to “Sits” for 42 Days before Removing the Eggs.

A Female Swan Nesting Alone
may NEED some Extra Protection Around her Nest.
If She is Nesting on an Island.. that Helps.
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This Lonely Female Swan Shared her Food with the Pond Koi.
They Grabbed her Food – Gone in a Minute.
She Finally Died.  *************************************

A “Rogue” Female Swan took the Mature Male away
from this Young Female… Now she is Alone.We Started to Look for a New Male…. It took Time.She wanted some Companionship.. Enter an Egret.“Hannah” tried to Talk to the Egret – “Snort.”They do not Speak the same Language…Her “Snort” scared the Egret away.********************************************

A Lone Swan will usually Look forward to Human Company.
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We Helped to Arrange for a New Female..

Alone No Longer.. A Sweet Young Female joins this Older Cob.

Together they Watched a Family Wedding..
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This Black Australian Cob has No Mate.
He is Nesting Alone.
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This Young Male was Rescued from a Dangerous Situation.

He Spent his First Winter Alone.
This Pair of Ducks became his Favorite Companions.
The Following Summer he Welcomed a Shy Female Cygnet.
A Year Later they are Happy – Bonded.

Now Winter is a Wonderful Time of Year for them.

They are Adorable Together.
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Tragically, her Mate was Killed Protecting her while she was Nesting.

Now she has a New Mate to Sleep with.. So Cute. 

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The Sudden Loss of her Sister Companion.. She Still looks for her.

We Arranged for a Rescued Male to Join her Pond.
This Young Rescued Male was Full-Winged – Clipped Twice.. but he had WanderLust.

We can not Explain Property Lines to the Swans.
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Going into Survival Mode. A Week Ago we could Hand Feed this Young Female and her Sister.
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A Feral Swan Living Alone..  with Canadian Geese. They are Company… But.*********************************

A Mute Cob Alone for Months Welcomes a Young Female.
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A Mature Pen Welcomes a Young Male Cygnet.

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I have seen Lone Male Swans “Singing” up into the Air.
They are Calling – Hope to Locate Another Swans.
Especially a Female..Winter Time Alone is NO Fun.
The Long Dark Night are Cold and Lonely.

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Their Happy Relationship was Short..
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These Three Mute Swans came onto our Local River System at Different Times..
Each Alone.
They Found Each other and formed a Threesome.
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In April there were Two Feral Swans.

Swans are Very Different when they have Company.
In November there were Three Feral Swans.

Life is Better with Friends.

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This Information is a Work in Progress…..
As I learn more I will add to this information..
Compiled by (C) L.M.Sweger              Updates March 2024
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One Winter’s Visits with a Lone Feral Mute Swan.
As soon as she saw our Van she Headed toward Us.
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Several People helped Feed “Harmony” during the Winter.
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She Trusted Us..And we would Bring Good Food and Treats.
And some Companionship.******
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A Gentle Feral Swan Living Alone.
We Tried to Catch her… No Luck.
In the End She was Shot to Death.

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