The only way to absolutely check a swan for gender is to conduct DNA Sequencing on a feather or blood sample which has to be sent to a license veterinary laboratory. If the bird is more than a year old, cloacal sexing can be conducted but should only be done by an avian veterinarian or veterinarian with waterfowl experience. The cloaca has to be probed and if the procedure is done incorrectly, the bird can be injured and the results may not be conclusive.

As far as getting the bird a mate for the winter, you may need to have a license in your state to possess a mute swan (captive). There are no guarantees that the wild swan will not fly away since the captive swan will probably have to be pinioned (which means cannot fly). This will create another problem meaning, you may need to find the new swan a mate. Our advice would be to wait and see what happens during the winter. If the swan stays around until spring, there is always the possibility that a potential wild swan mate will find the swan and will make your pond their permanent home without you trying to intervene in swan matchmaking. Let us now how this transpires. The Regal Swan