On the first of May 2021, I was walking along the Lake Erie shore in Buffalo, New York when I saw a Mute Swan, cygnus olor, eating its breakfast. Mute Swans were originally native to Eurasia, but were introduced into North America in the early 1900’s. Since then, a wild breeding population has become established and there are an estimated 3,000 mute swans in New York state. They are most common in the Hudson Valley and the eastern portion of Lake Ontario.
