After a long battle with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, three baby mute swans (cygnets) have hatched at the Manlius Swan Pond.
According to Michael Bean, donor and caretaker of the Manlius mute swan pair Manny and Faye, two female and one male cygnets hatched on Tuesday. A total of five eggs were laid by Faye this year, said Bean, but the last two were not viable.
The first two weeks of a cygnet’s life are critical because they must rest and recuperate from hatching, then learn to walk while fending off any disease brought into the pond by the mallard ducks or other wildlife who share the pond.
Cygnets live off of egg yolk for the first few weeks, but must learn to eat after that time. Bean said the cygnets are covered in oil from their mother’s nesting, which will make them good swimmers as they take their first swim on the pond.
In March, the DEC’s ruling that mute swans were an invasive species took effect and a plan was put in place to eliminate the species, totaling about 2,200, from the state by 2025. The DEC did decide that organizations who kept swans in a controlled and cared-for environment, like the village of Manlius, could apply for an invasive species permit to keep their current mute swans.
This was bittersweet news for Manny and Faye because it meant they would not be allowed to breed. The village of Manlius made an appeal to the DEC in late March to allowed to pair to hatch cygnets because Faye carries a recessive genetic trait that is passed down to her cygnets that gives some white bills, white feet and blue eyes rather than the usual black feet, black-and-orange bills and brown eyes.
Finally, on June 1, the DEC sent a special invasive species permit to the village of Manlius that allowed them to breed mute swans.
“Frankly, I was flabbergasted,” said Bean. “I was shocked. To the best of my knowledge, Manlius is the only place at this point in the state of New York that is allowed to breed them [mute swans].”
The permit has several conditions set in place to ensure the mute swans do not become a problem in the community. One of the conditions included presenting the DEC with a plan to remove the cygnets from the pond.
Right now, Bean said he is working with a Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), an organization in England that functions to preserve wetlands, to move the cygnets after they are grown at the expense of the WWT. If the DEC grants this plan, the cygnets will likely have to be moved before March 2016 in order to make room on the pond for the next group of cygnets.
Bean said initially the WWT only wanted the cygnets who carried the genetic mutation from Faye, but after hearing of the DEC’s plan to eliminate the species, they said they would take them all. Two of the cygnets recently born carry Faye’s genetic traits.
Until then, village of Manlius residents can enjoy seeing the cygnets grow at the Manlius Swan Pond.
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
