That's one helluva mean bird!

Swan are on my Hit List, I'd more than happy to take out "Hannibal" w/ a 3 1/2" magnum "T" shot. Then the swan would be taxidermed & fitted to my office wall.

Reasons for their behaviour ?? They are big strong very agressive birds ! CT had problems with swans coming in where they were not a native species. They drove out the native birds ! The officials shot them and looked the other way if hunters took them .When the bambi types found out they screamed and that ended it - the swans have taken over.

We have the same issue here in Idaho with Pelicans. Thirty years ago they started following the Salmon up the rivers. Now we have them as far as the Utah border.

I "hear" they nearly explode with HP loads in a 220 Swift.

Rich
DRSS

They're tasty buggers as well !!!

He's an older bird and considers the pond his territory.
The same occurs on stretches of river in the UK.

And once they get like this, their is no going back.

We were in Sweden a couple of years ago, and we saw two swans with chicks in an inlet.

I took my camera and went down to take photos, and my friend told me to stay away, as the swans would attack me.

I told him I think I can handle a swan, after all, it has no teeth or claws.

He laughed and said he would watch what happens.

I went down to the water on a jetty, and put some bread in the water close by.

They came to feed, and they took turns in having a go at me.

I stood my ground, and would not move from teh edge of jetty.

They never came closer than about 2 meters from me.

They always stopped just short.

I took many photos without any hassles at all.

Your reputation precedes you!

I don't know about swans elsewhere in the world but the ones in the UK are all bluff and bluster. They'll come at you full of aggression but all you have to do is grab then by the neck with one hand and then put your other arm around their body and fold the wings in flat...... they they just give up.

On the River Thames, they have a annual programme called swan upping and those guys have got it down to a fine art.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Upping