Folks looking for waterfowl at Medusa will see a spectacle we've been
watching at Pond 3 at Killdeer for several years: a pair of trumpeter
swans relentlessly bullying other potential nesters from their large
territory. Others will have seen this going on at less public places out
in the marshes, as well.
        This large, aggressive species, which had no history as an Ohio breeder
until it was unwisely artificially introduced by ODOW, is a bad neighbor
for our native marsh-nesting birds. They take an enormous amount of
subaquatic vegetation from our depleted wetlands. I'll admit it's a bit
of poetic justice to see them kicking the butts of non-native Canada
geese and mute swans, and I've seen them come close to killing them, but
the species that belong there suffer still more.
        Admire them if you can in their new surroundings--I believe "majestic"
is the recommended adjective--but recognize them for the misfits they are.
Bill Whan
Columbus

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]