Penny and Tycho, still in (cygnine) love

Here are Ashbridge’s Bay’s mute swan pair, Penny and Tycho. (Penny is on the left in the picture above.) I was out for a quick walk on Saturday afternoon, hoping perhaps to see the swans while I was gettingwhat passes for exercise most days. Arriving in the main parking lot, I first checked the boat ramp area, where “our lovelies,” as my friend Egon calls them, often hang out, especially on weekends.

Penny and Tycho like to be nearby when folks come by to feed the gulls and ducks. And while that does happen on some weekdays, it’s a regular occurrence on weekends when folks from all over the city come to visit the Beach. Even if P and T are across on the far side of the Coatsworth Cut, they waste no time in getting over to the parking lot area when there is free food to mooch. (I must say, it pains me to see this, as there are clear signs posted in the parking lot to not feed the birds. Stale hot dog buns and white bread are no food for our avian friends. But I’ve been on this particular hobby horse before, so I shall dismount now.)

On Saturday the swans weren’t in the Coatsworth Cut, so I quickly made my way along the footpath by the yacht clubs to the inner bay. I was walking quietly and carefully, but still managed to flush a male kingfisher from its perch. Darn! A wee bit quieter and I might have gotten a shot at getting an image of him.

But as I saw the kingfisher fly away, I saw the welcome white blaze of our two swans only a hundred metres or so away.

Instead of approaching them closely as I often do, I thought this time I’d hang back and just watch their behaviour before they knew I was there.

They were feeding in the shallows of the inner bay, right by the beaver lodge, which you can clearly see in the photo. The swans spent a lot of time upside down in a feeding ritual that looked almost choreographed. When Penny tipped over, Tycho would follow.  Then they would surface almost at the same time. They seemed to be very aware of the position of their mate, all the time.  After a period of feeding, a session of grooming would commence. Then more feeding. At one point, Penny turned her head around and napped for a few minutes while Tycho kept on grooming.

These two birds have a bond that is palpable. And Tycho is always protective of his mate. While I was watching them, a large dog bounded down towards the water from the path. Tycho was instantly on alert, sailing over to get between Penny and the potential danger. And you can say I’m anthropomorphizing, but to me it looks like after all these years together — I’ve been watching them for seven years, now, and who knows how long they were together before that?  — taking care of each other and raising clutch after clutch of cygnets together, they are still in cygnine love. And it’s a beautiful thing to behold.

To see a very short video I took of Penny and Tycho in their spring courtship ritual this year, click here. And to find other entries about P and T, search Wild About The City under swans.

© BCP 2010