Cygnus atratus (Black Swan)

6/12/17 Leeds Castle, Kent, England:

   

Black Swans with a Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) and Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

   

 Cygnets (aka baby swans)

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Black Swan

SPECIES: Cygnus atratus

FAMILY: Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans)

LIFE LIST DATE: 6/12/2017

LOCATION: Leeds Castle, Kent, England, UK

From Wikipedia:

The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. A New Zealand subspecies was apparently hunted to extinction by Māori, but the species was reintroduced to New Zealand in the 1860s. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. Black swans are large birds with mostly black plumage and red bills. They are monogamous breeders that share incubation duties and cygnet rearing between the sexes.

Black swans were introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s, but have escaped and formed stable populations

The black swan is common in the wetlands of southwestern and eastern Australia and adjacent coastal islands. 

The black swan's preferred habitat extends across fresh, brackish and salt water lakes, swamps and rivers with underwater and emergent vegetation for food and nesting materials. Permanent wetlands are preferred, including ornamental lakes, but black swans can also be found in flooded pastures and tidal mudflats, and occasionally on the open sea near islands or the shore.

The black swan is also very popular as an ornamental waterbird in western Europe, especially Britain, and escapees are commonly reported. As yet, the population in Britain is not considered to be self-sustaining and so the species is not afforded admission to the official British List, but the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust have recorded a maximum of nine breeding pairs in the UK in 2001, with an estimate of 43 feral birds in 2003-2004.