Rare black swan becomes popular attraction
Barbara French, a resident of Lincoln, located outside Milford, said the swan is likely one named Gwendolyn and belonged to her neighbor, who has since moved away.
She said the neighbor got a pair of black swans from a friend in Reading, Pa. The black swans originated in Australia.
French said it’s probably Gwendolyn, who would frequently disappear and come back, but she hasn’t seen the bird in a year.
“She was always out and about,” French said.
French said Gwendolyn is very smart, approachable and mild-mannered. Swans are often territorial and can act aggressively toward humans, but she said Gwendolyn was never like that. French said Gwendolyn would often sit in her front yard and sun herself and was unafraid of her cats.
In addition to eating natural vegetation around lakes and creeks, French said she sometimes fed Gwendolyn birdseed and bread, which the bird seemed to enjoy.
Professor Tom Evans of the University of Delaware and the volunteer organization Tri-State Bird Rescue for Downstate Delaware, said he saw Gwendolyn in Silver Lake Saturday, April 11, near Rehoboth Elementary School. He said he saw the bird feeding on land and it did not appear to be injured. Evans said people should not try to capture the bird.
Rehoboth Commissioner Lorraine Zellers, who lives along Silver Lake, said Gwendolyn was feeding in the same place where Evans spotted her, near the elementary school.
Zellers said Gwendolyn was very friendly, even cooing in the water. She said Gwendolyn has even become a bit of a tourist attraction, with kids throwing her birdseed and bread.
Mike Klingel, who lives on Lake Drive, said he saw Gwendolyn off Silver Lake last year for about a week around this same time in the spring.
He said the bird is friendly; last year he literally almost had her eating out of the palm of his hand.
The black swan is a species native to Australia and New Zealand. An adult black swan has a wingspan of 5 to 6.5 feet, is 43 to 56 inches in length and weighs between 8 and 20 pounds.
Ryan Mavity covers Milton and the court system. He is married to Rachel Swick Mavity and has two kids, Alex and Jane. Ryan started with the Cape Gazette all the way back in February 2007, previously covering the City of Rehoboth Beach. A native of Easton, Md. and graduate of Towson University, Ryan enjoys watching the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Capitals and Baltimore Orioles in his spare time.
