Earlier this week my wife saw a pair of Black Swans walking about in an open grassy paddock with a mob of cattle. Nearest water was about 300m away. I’ve only ever seen Swans in or adjacent to water (except when flying) and was wondering if this was unusual behaviour. Paul Osborn Bulahdelah, NSW
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Philip,
All swans and geese can land on water or land. Many do not land as elegantly as on water. Most can actually take off more easily on land than water. Something to do with being easier to run on land than water.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
I have seen that but very few times, only one or two birds and not far from water. Chris says “may be many kms from river/lagoon”. My question is: When it comes time to arrive or leave, do they fly in or out from the land surface or do they need to walk to or from the water to get there or leave there. Surely at best they would find it hard to start or end a flight on land, not water.
Philip
Paul
It’s not unusual to see hundreds of Black Swans grazing on pastures in the area around Lake Condah in southwestern Victoria. Australian Shelducks are often scattered among the swans.
Regards
David
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Earlier this week my wife saw a pair of Black Swans walking about in an open grassy paddock with a mob of cattle. Nearest water was about 300m away. I’ve only ever seen Swans in or adjacent to water (except when flying) and was wondering if this was unusual behaviour. Paul Osborn Bulahdelah, NSW
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Paul Osborn asked if seeing Black Swans in a open paddock away from water is unusual and Chris Baxter commented that they do this in their 100s on Kangaroo Island. Sounds like although they may be a different colour (Black Swan theory and all that), they forage in the same way as their northern hemisphere cousins. I recall seeing several fields full of a mixed bag of Mute, Bewicks & Whooper Swans in the area around Welney in the Cambridgeshire fens just over 3 years ago. Cheers Tom Wilson
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Hi Paul/All
This is not unusual behaviour on Kangaroo Island, SA as Black Swans move onto wet pastured paddocks during late Autumn-Winter and Spring to feed on green clover etc. They are in 100s sometimes and may be many kms from river/lagoon. We even have 100-200 Pied Oystercatchers doing the same-albeit maybe only several 100 m from the sea on coastal farmland.
Cheers
Chris Baxter