If the swans are juveniles, they may be practicing. If the swans are older swans, they may be starting the mating rituals as the weather is confusing a lot of wildlife at this time. The weather has turned cold, only to warm back up, etc., which has the wildlife confused whether spring time has begun after the cold season. Once the weather stablilizes and the cold weather returns for several months, things will settle until the real spring or at least the spring months near.

We have observed this mating behavior in swans in Central Florida. We just went through a couple days of 40 degree weather to warm back to the 80's. Swans and other wildlife have been seen mating without even building nests or preparing for the possibility of offspring.

The down side to all of this is that if the swans mate and the mating is successful, i.e., producing eggs, the swans will have to build a nest in the immediate area and may not migrate. If they do not migrate, they may face perils due to the inclement weather and may not survive. If they do survive, the swans may suffer from the harsh weather and lose weight and get sick because of the lack of nutritional resources and shelter available.

If the parents leave before or soon after hatching, the eggs or cygnets will obviously not survive. Even if the parents do not leave, the chances that the offspring will survive in harsh weather, is questionable.

Weather patterns usually dictate matings, nestings and hatchings, so having said all of this, the swans will figure it out. Nature always prevails. The Regal Swan