Do you know the color of the beaks? If they are Black with a small yellow space near their eyes, they are the Tundra swans and may be looking for water and some food on the migratory path. They may have been blown off course and used the area as a stopover to regain their energy and better weather before proceeding to wherever they were headed.

If the have orange beaks, they are Mute Swans and probably do not live in Maryland as the Maryland DNR has systematically killed all Mute Swans except two mating pairs, destroyed 1683 nests and 9403 eggs to eradicate them because of their supposed negative impact on the environment (high levels of nitrogen and eat too much vegetation). Yet a Trumpeter Swan weighs 10 lbs more than a Mute Swan and its young will eat twice as much vegetation as a Mute Swan.

There was never any research done to show that the Mute Swans were responsible for the high nitrogen levels in the Chesapeake Bay, and now having killed all the Mute Swans except for two mating pair, tests show that the nitrogen levels are still extremely high. In fact, a local Maryland television show stated that there is now a proposal among environmentalists to charge a 5 cent tax on all poultry to help clean up the bay.

The US Wildlife Services and Maryland DNR were told by environmentalists in the early 2000's that the Mute Swans were not the cause of the high nitrogen levels, but rather run-off from animal wastes, fertilizers and other pollutants. Yet, at taxpayer expense, they killed the swans in hope of reintroducing a larger species of swan, Trumpeter Swans to be used a Trophy Waterfowl and generate more income for state wildlife coffers through hunting licenses. This is how the massacre vs management plan for the eradication of the Mute Swan began and how it continues across Maryland, Michigan and other states.

So, if these are Mute Swans, please enjoy them now because the State of Maryland DNR will probably go out and continue killing them so the swans will not stay in your area. The Regal Swan