Birds of a different feather are getting together on a lake outside Calgary. The pairing of two species of swans — one a trumpeter, the other a mute — at Cochrane Lake west of the city is a rare occurrence, experts say.
"This one here becomes a first, if the two actually stay together," said bird watcher Len Hills.
"They're distinctly different species. The trumpeter is a North American species. The mute is a European species. It was brought over for parks, etc., and they were supposed to have their wings clipped so they couldn't escape — but some have escaped."
The two species look almost the same, except the trumpeter has a black beak while the mute's is orange.
Trumpeter swans travel through Alberta every year as they migrate to and from the Pacific coast, up to Alaska and as far south as Colorado.
Hills has been following them for years as they pass through the province, he said. This year, however, he heard a mute swan had been spotted on Calgary's Glenmore Reservoir.
Then it met up with a trumpeter at Cochrane Lake. Now it appears they are preparing to mate, according to Hills.
"They feed together side by side, they tip up, they physically touch one another. When they come up they'll often face one another and sort of curve their necks and look directly at one another."
Canadian Wilds curator Bob Peel of the Calgary Zoo agreed that the apparent pairing is noteworthy.
"What could be happening is this mute swan — probably would be a male — is pursuing a female trumpeter swan. So it's not unheard of, it's just not a normal occurrence."
Birders will be watching to see whether the swans leave together for a nesting site farther north, and if they return in the fall with offspring, Hills said.
