mute swan south carolina | Best Life Birding- Birdwatching Tours

By-Sally Siko

While birding at Huntington Beach State Park last week I spotted a small flock of Mute Swans flying overhead.
They made two runs of an ever descending spiral formation before they dropped down.
Although they were somewhat far away from my vantage point on the dock, it was fun to try to get a few pics of the group as they glided in for a splash landing.

These impressive swans are a familiar sight to many throughout the Carolinas occurring in urban parks, wildlife refuges and in on farms in rural regions.
Though they are year-round residents,
Mute Swans are actually native to Europe and were introduced to the United States in the 1800s as an ornamental species to grace the gardens of estates and parks. As it often goes, many of them escaped and are now contributing to the growing populations of feral birds.
Today, undomesticated flocks Mute Swans are found in coastal areas from New England all the way south into the mid Atlantic States.

The bane of kayakers, fishermen, farmers and hikers alike, these guys can get quite aggressive, especially during the breeding season when encountered near their nesting sites.
Even during the winter, Mute Swans are very protective of one another and will chase away enemies or rivals at the drop of a hat.
They’ll puff their feathers out to appear larger than life, hiss loudly and then set off after the offender with neck extended, bill open ready to deliver a bite.
Perhaps they aren’t the friendliest of birds but at least they are entertaining to watch lol!

Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

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After a long day of birding in Murrells Inlet SC, I decided to take a quick trip north up Rt.17 to Myrtle Beach to pick up some dinner.
If you’re unfamiliar with the area, Rt. 17 is a heavily trafficked highway that passes by several strip malls and shopping centers which seem to be busy throughout the day and evening.

When I was about a mile or so from my destination, the GPS directed me to exit to the left to drive through an access rd which actually passed between a Lowes Home Improvement Store parking lot and Rt.17.
Though it was already dark outside, something caught my eye in a narrow water retention pond (read big roadside ditch full of water lol!) which was located between Rt.17 and the Lowes parking lot…
Mute Swans!

I quickly parked my car and grabbed my camera out of the bag and walked over to the “pond” to get a better look.
Cars zooming behind me with curious onlookers, just a few feet down the short slope were 5 Mute Swans swimming peacefully in the shallow water. They were feeding on something under the water and appeared to be completely at ease despite the fact that they were surrounded on all sides by traffic noise and lights.
Isn’t that remarkable?
Not wanting to disturb them into wandering into the road, I quickly snapped off a couple shots and then headed on my way to pick up my meal.

*Btw, this is what ISO 5000 looks like shooting on a long lens at 600mm in the dark using street lights for ambiance looks like.
My Canon R5 did a pretty good job I think 🙂

Mute Swans are native to Europe and were introduced to the United States in the 1800s as an ornamental species to grace the gardens of estates and parks.
As it goes with birds, many escaped and now growing populations of feral Mute Swans are found in New England and south along the mid Atlantic coast.
Now here’s the thing, I’ve seen many Mute Swans over the years at farms and zoos so these birds weren’t “lifers” for me in the strict sense.
Yet, this was the first time I’d ever observed this elegant beauty in the wild so I thought it was pretty cool just the same.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty mirrorless monster of a camera, the @canonusa
#R5