Swan Royalty
Lake Morton, Lakeland, Florida
Apparently, wild swans first appeared on this 40-acre lake around 1923. By 1954, they were gone, eradicated by alligators and other predators. An elderly Lakeland resident who mourned the passing of the swans, wrote to Queen Elizabeth about the problem. She generously arranged to ship over two of the royal swans from her personal collection, and the 40 or so swans now on Lake Morton are the descendants of this original pair. (Keith, if you see her, do thank her for me. :-)
The lake is also home to a wider variety of waterfowl than I’ve ever seen in one place at one time in the wild. This includes dozens of species of ducks, several unusual types of geese, white pelicans, other swans (mute,tundra and whistling), and all the usual wading birds. It’s quite remarkable to see this incredible array of birds cohabiting so amicably with one another and with the humans who consider walks around the lake and volunteering with maintenance a part of life in this interesting city. Lakeland (pop. 100,000), which is just an hour's drive from where I live, has a total of 38 lakes – many of which are quite large and most of which host a wide variety of bird life. Everyone lives within walking distance of at least one lake.
Swan Royalty
Lake Morton, Lakeland, Florida
Apparently, wild swans first appeared on this 40-acre lake around 1923. By 1954, they were gone, eradicated by alligators and other predators. An elderly Lakeland resident who mourned the passing of the swans, wrote to Queen Elizabeth about the problem. She generously arranged to ship over two of the royal swans from her personal collection, and the 40 or so swans now on Lake Morton are the descendants of this original pair. (Keith, if you see her, do thank her for me. :-)
The lake is also home to a wider variety of waterfowl than I’ve ever seen in one place at one time in the wild. This includes dozens of species of ducks, several unusual types of geese, white pelicans, other swans (mute,tundra and whistling), and all the usual wading birds. It’s quite remarkable to see this incredible array of birds cohabiting so amicably with one another and with the humans who consider walks around the lake and volunteering with maintenance a part of life in this interesting city. Lakeland (pop. 100,000), which is just an hour's drive from where I live, has a total of 38 lakes – many of which are quite large and most of which host a wide variety of bird life. Everyone lives within walking distance of at least one lake.