with one beat of its mighty wing

Did you know that swans can break your arm with one beat of its mighty wing?

It's true.

And you know when you see the one shoe on the side of the road? Yep. That's usually all that's left after a particularly vicious swan attack.

I have to admit, I'm a leetle afraid of swans and geese, too. Any kind of big bird. They used to be dinosaurs, ya know. They have cold, evil eyes. And the bigger they are, the more powerful and dangerous they can be.

I've been watching a set of adolescent swans at Richmond Deer Park all winter. They're well beyond the ugly duckling stage, but they still have a lot of brown in the plumage. They're teenagers. And yesterday they were acting like it.



They were fighting and biting and flying and skating across the water and honking and threatening each other. I was standing on the side of the pond, hoping to get a halfway decent shot.

A family next to me summoned the swans with offers of rice crispies (which they loved). I wasn't so sure about them coming so close when they were so wound up. Did you know they can break your arm with one beat of their mighty wings? And there were three or four of them and they were beating their mighty wings.



I was trying to take pictures of baby geese which were attracted by the rice krispies - so I didn't want to leave. Besides, I find that standing behind a camera makes me immune to all danger.


The kid asked her parents about the swans said "Can they hurt you?"

I wanted to say "Yes, did you know that with one beat of their...etc. I would move off now if I were you! You're not much more than a tasty snack, little girl."

But the mom said "Just act dominant and they won't bother you."

What? Act dominant? Is that true? Doesn't that just make them mad? Isn't that just a provocation? Best thing is to just keep a nice, safe distance.