IN recent weeks there’s been a flurry of excitement as a new celebrity has been spotted hanging out near the RST.
No, not David Tennant, Dame Judi, Sir Pat Stew or one of the other old school actor favourites, this one has got feathers and is of a darker hue than its Stratford brethren.
Take a bow, the black swan.
The sole male appeared on the Avon at Stratford near to the Fisherman’s car park a week before Christmas. Its unexpected colouring – black rather than the white mute swans who populate the area – caused a wave of interest, and the swan’s photo has been shared numerous times on social media.
People have correctly identified that it is a Cygnus atratus, the black swan with a red bill native to Western Australia.
This black swan. Photo: Mark Williamson
But how did it get here and what should be done about it– if anything?
Of course the man to ask is Cyril Bennis, recently honoured with a BEM for services to the community, including 45 years helping the local swans.
“It’s not the first time we’ve had a black swan, the last one was about three years ago,” began Cyril. “But through all the years I’ve been in Stratford we’ve never had a pair of black swans on the river.
“Black swans are not native to the UK,” he observed. “They are brought in by people for private lakes and ponds. Those ones usually have their wings clipped but this one doesn’t.”
In fact wealthy folk began bringing the birds to England from Australia for ornamental purposes in the 18th century.
It was during this period, in 1776 to be precise, that Stratford’s famous theatre pub, the Black Swan pub was given its name. It is of course more commonly known by the nickname given to it by GIs during the war: the Dirty Duck.
“Recently there have been a lot more black swans around on the rivers,” continued Cyril. “The last time we had a visitor it was dumped here. We removed it and got paired up with another black swan that was also found wandering. And we managed to relocate them to a safer place in a lake area away from the main rivers.”
It is highly unlikely that the different species of swans would interbreed – something that only rarely happens in captivity.
“In the short term it’s fine for the black swan to be here, he seems hunky-dory and happy enough,” added Cyril. “They are very independent and very able to look after themselves.
“The black swans can be aggressive, more aggressive than a mute swan. And that’s something that we’re keeping an eye on.
“Long term, we don’t think it would be fair or right to keep it on its own. We would like to have it paired up and moved on.”
Since swans belong to the royal household, Cyril says they will also take his lead from the King’s swan marker, David Barber.
“David pointed out that they are not indigenous and shouldn’t be here,” said Cyril.
“There’s a worry that the non-native species could cause an imbalance in the natural order, so we don’t want to encourage them to stay on the river.”
Cyril is keen that a suitable home is found for the Stratford visitor – and appealed for anyone with a lake or river to get in touch.
In the meantime, he will be in contact with a sanctuary in the Midlands that already has four black swans.
“It’s a lovely sight to see a black swan on the river but the bottom line is its welfare, to make sure it’s safe.”