Mute Swans

[GMGraham]

Just a heads up to fellow kayakers out there. Keep an eye on these mute swans. Last year I put my kayak in at fire lane 1 in NOTL and had one of these fly at me aggressively. Luckily (for me and for him) it turned away at the last minute. That was my first up close experience with these things.

I did some research later and found out more about them:

They are very territorial, especially in spring when guarding the nests. You will likely see them scaring off everything (including Canadian Geese).

I was down at Charles Daley park last week with my wife and there was one guarding the pond, chasing off every other bird that tried to land in the pond or swim there.

I've noticed a lot of them this year, especially in the ponds. Just keep your guard up around them in your kayak.

You can google search or check youtube to find out more about how they react to people on the water.

Always wear a life jacket.

[Outdoors Oriented]

Have had multiple run-ins with them myself in 15 Mile creek just south of the QEW, they seem to actually go out of their way to terrorize you, it's amazing how aggressive they can be.

[Dan Andrews]

Ya those ones on 15 are amazing powerful. The ones on the 12 just south of the QEW just rule that entire pond. The geese are afraid to let out a peep.

[smerchly]

This one today was putting the run to the geese at Rennie Park . The baby geese really scrambled out of the water fast ! And the red wing black birds were dive bombing the adult geese that got too close to their nest in the rushes !

[GMGraham]

I personally hate these birds. They are an invasive species that is starting to dominate the ponds around here. The geese are being run out.