Submission (#6242) Approved

Not only is this species seen as a menace while strolling through the park, they are also known as an invasive species in Michigan. Mute swans, with the scientific name, “Cygnus olor” are known as aggressive birds, especially when they are protecting their offspring. They were first brought to North America from Eurasia in the 1800s to decorate estates, parks, and zoos, but they escaped and established around the Great Lakes, and the east coast.
Adult mute swans can be identified by their orange bills with a black knob on the top, they have an “S” curve in their neck, and generally have a quieter call. Young will start gray, changing to gray-brown, then turn their signature white, which has made them a symbol of love in many cultures. They are the fifth heaviest flying bird, males can weigh up to 30 pounds. Their wingspan can be up to 4 ft wide. In the wild, mute swans can live up to 20 years old. The oldest recorded swan in the United States was 26 years, and 9 months in Rhode Island. Male swans are called cobs, and females are called pens.
The black knob on a male will swell to be larger than a female’s during mating season, which is the easiest way to identify a male from a female. Mating pairs will generally stay together for life, and the younger mate will join the territory of the older mate. They will generally form pairs at 2 years old, and create a nest at 3-4 years old. Nests are created mostly by the female, and the male helps find materials. The nest is generally 5-6 feet in diameter, and a shallow depression on the top of it. They generally have 5-7 pale green eggs, generally 12 cm long, 7cm wide and 7x the weight of a chicken egg (swan eggs are 350g or .77 pounds). These eggs will hatch in about 36 days. The female will incubate the eggs for a majority of the time, the male will incubate the eggs when the female is looking for food. The young are called cygnets. The young can be carried on the parents' backs, or swim with them through their first winter. On average, three cygnets survive to juvenile age, of 4-5 months old.
They can consume up to eight pounds of plants a day, much faster than they can be replenished, causing destruction of native plants, and diminishing wetlands, which are important to support local wildlife habitat. They can benefit from the spread of another invasive plant, the common reed, which allows them to build nests farther offshore to protect their eggs from predators. In addition to aquatic vegetation, they also graze on seeds, stems, leaves, roots, insects, worms, snails, and small fish.
These birds sometimes migrate when lakes freeze over. Due to climate change, they are beginning to migrate farther north into Canada. Heat waves in the spring also endangers the young, and urbanization pushes the birds out of their habitat.
Though mute swans are an invasive species, in Michigan it is not legal to hunt them. The Department of Natural Resources issues permits to remove mute swans, nests, and eggs from your property by sending a request through their offices or website.

Images:
https://www.michigan.gov/invasives/-/media/Project/Websites/invasives/Images/ID/Birds/muteswan.jpg?rev=98646dc4c5f142738f4ed28e58e158df&hash=011E5A7D4A3EC8052D644AA160FC20FA
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/assets/photo/75711651-1280px.jpg
https://media.audubon.org/nas_birdapi/a1_7476_1_mute-swan_cindee_beechwood_adult-and-downy-young.jpg
https://media.audubon.org/nas_birdapi/gbbc_mute_swan_lynne-marsho_il_2012_kk_adults-.jpg
https://media.audubon.org/nas_birdapi/mute-swan_001_juvenile_spring_dankristiansen_flickrcc-by-nc-nd-2.0_juvenile.jpg

Citations of information:
Invasive Species: Mute Swan: https://www.michigan.gov/invasives/id-report/birds/mute-swan
All about birds: Mute Swan: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/overview
Guide to North American Birds: Mute Swan : https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/mute-swan
Youtube: Things you need to know about mute swans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMABphuQsaA