The Black Swan At Abbotsbury.

Putting The Record Straight...

 

'Never Let The Truth Get In The Way Of A Good Story'

This post is a bit of a change from my weekly roundup of Swannery bird sightings, which will follow on Sunday as usual. I just felt I needed to comment on the ludicrous stories that have appeared in the popular daily press recently and on the internet about the arrival of a Black Swan at Abbotsbury Swannery, about which staff and birdwatchers are apparently mystified! What a complete and utter fabrication... and what's more I have been 'quoted' (misquoted more like), or at least  Deputy Swanherd Steve Graves has, whoever he is! As any local birders know (and many regular Swannery visitors), we have had Black Swans visiting the Swannery for over twenty years now, with up to ten being present one year. Even this year we have two that have been present since February, which is not surprising seeing that there is a thriving introduced population in Britain now with between fifty and one hundred individuals being at large (depending on the source) so why would we be mystified by its appearance? The first I knew about this rubbish was when a local reporter phoned me up asking about the Black Swan that had just arrived... to which I explained that we have two and that they haven't just arrived. A fact he chose to ignore. Whats more a photographer duly arrived to photo the one Black Swan and was most surprised to discover we had two. It then took him two visits to get a photo of the one Black Swan without the other getting in the way just so they could perpetuate this garbage. What's that all about? Why lie? The truth is wonderful!



The TWO Black Swans at The Swannery today (in poor light and in a gale!).