If the swan is bathing or moulting (losing its feathers summer and springtime), the swans will pull out the old feathers to allow the new feathers to emerge. Swans like all birds, will zip their feathers. Think of a feather as velcroR.

One side of the feather is a hook and the other side the latch or sticky side which the hook attaches and closes. This is the way that the swans put their feathers back together after preening and bathing to allow them to look nice and tidy as well as prepare them for flight. If the feathers stay open, air gets through preventing or hampering their lift during takeoff. Throughout the day and year, the swans will tidy their feathers which can result in old feathers from being removed.

Finally, the swans will rub preen oil from the uropygial oil gland (preen gland) all over their body to keep themselves water repellent.

The time spent on land vs water is usually a temperature issue. If it is too cold, the swans may leave the water to sun themselves in the sunlight. However, they may leave their feet in the water because the water temperature is warmer than the outside temperature, especially on a cold night.

In the heat of summer, swans may stay longer in the water to cool off. During nesting season, the time on land will obviously increase to incubate the eggs or sit on the cygnets in the nest. Individual attributes to a swan may also cause the swan to prefer land over water and vice versa. So, there is no set time, such as 1-2 hours, etc. It totally depends on the data provided above. The Regal Swan