A few weeks ago, I wrote about seeing a pair of swans on open water (spring creek inlet) on the Cisco Chain. I was sent another picture (thanks again Mike) on March 14th and now one Canada Goose has joined them. Being just one goose surprised me because Canada geese usually mate for life unless one dies, which could be the case here. I also found this odd because I thought these two species usually don’t get along since they both are territorial at times.

Swans and Canada geese both migrate late February to early March, so I understand the timing, and both species look for open water to rest and a habitat (food source) that can support them. So, being the only open water that I’ve seen is this inlet (spring creek) on the far east side of Mamie obviously they can coexist.

As I wrote a few weeks ago the swans in this area were most likely Trumpeter or Tundra and these two species are less aggressive than Mute swans and this could be another reason they shared the small area without a dispute. Swans can be more aggressive if they feel threatened, but seeing them so close together, it seemed like none of them felt intimidated.

Does this mean these birds won’t fight? Absolutely not. Knowing that Swans breed between March into April and Canada Geese breed between march into late May, these similar times can overlap, and conflicts could escalate if the nesting areas are close. Being that Swans are much larger and stronger than Canada geese, when it comes to who gets the best nesting site? SWANS WIN. The one reason this may not happen is by the time breeding season starts, there will be open water.