The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1892-08-05
AN ENGLISH SWANNERY
THE SWAN PARADISE IN THE
LAGOON AT ABBoTSBURY.

n LONDON paper (the Specta-
"a tori calls the Fleet, the straigh,
iN lagoon which runs for nine
miles from the Isle of Portland
to Abbotsbury, behind the barrier OF
Chesil Beach, "the swan PARADISE" and
= adds: ,-.-.
The nine straight miles of water be.
low is only the playground of the birds;
but in spring this is forsaken, except by
few pairs that nest on the inner side
of Chesil Beach; aud the rich and
sheltered mead which fringes Abbots-
bury Brook is white with the graceful
forms Of . thousand nesting swans. In
this their ancient haunt, so ancient that
although the hills behind are crowned
with the ruins Of votive chapels and an.
clent monasteries, the swans NAV claiu
for their established home an equal il
not greater autiquity-all the favorite
sites were last week already occupied by
the Jealous and watchful birds, each
keenly resentful Of intrusion on its ter.
ritory, yet in such close proximity to its
neighbors that space of ten or twelve
feet at most divided it from ground in
separate and hostile occupation.
Near the mouth of small stream which
enters the Fleet below close and OK.
tensive bed of reeds, now cut down and
stored for the use of the birds when
building, lies the ground most coveted
by the swans. There, between two hun.
dred and three hundred nests, O,
sites for nests, were occupied or
space of two acres at most SO anxious
are the birds to secure place on thie
favorte spot that they remain sitting
constantly on the place when occupied,
in order to maintain their rights against
intruders, and there collect with their
long necks every morsel of reed and
grass within reach to form a platform
for the eggs. At this time the swanhend
visits them constantly, and scatters bun.
dies Of dried reed from the stacks, which
are eagerly gathered in by the swans an6
piled round and beneath them as they
sit. These additions to the nest go or
continually; and as the cock swan takes
his share,or even more than his share, ,oi
the duties of sitting upon the eggs, ont
of the pair is always at liberty to collect
fresh material. This is mainly piled ir
a kind of wall round the nest, the r.
terror being already finished, and ofsea
partly felted with lining of swansdowr
from the birds breasts.
To the visitor who, under the guild.
auce Of the swauherd, walks on the par.
row grasspaths which wind amid tn,
labyrinth of nests, the colony recall.
visions of visits to the island homes OF
the great retrels or giant albatrosses in
distant oceans. Many of the swans have
built their nests so that they even en-
crcach upon the paths; and each of the
great birds as he passes throws back its
snake.like head, and with raised crest
hlsses fiercely and rattlcs the pinions OF
its wings, or even leaves the nest, and
with every feather quivering with excite.
ment, makes as though it would drive
the intruder from the sanctuary. But
the presence Of the swanherd generally
treasures the birds, though the kissing
rises and falls as if from the throats of a
thousand angry snakes. In view of the
natural jealousIy and tiercenass of swans
IN the breeding season, the comparative
gentlcnefs of the Abbotsbury birds, is
somewhat remarkable. On the rivers
sud broads of Norfolk each pair claim
anlGtEe t y large stretch of water for
.neW so'e use, and constant and some.
times times iatal lights ta'se~nlace if the re-
served territory is invaded khe,
pair. There, also, the swans viii occd.-
sionai'y attack not only strangers
but the swanhcrds themselves, who.
owing to the extent of the
stream and dykes along which the
swans nest, are, Of course, less we'll
known to the birds than are the keepers
at Abbotsbury. Mr.. Stevenson was told
by John Trett, a marshman of Surfing.
ham, that he was "attacked by an old
male swan as he was examining the eggs
IN nest, to which, being a boggy place
he bad crawled on his hands and knees.
The swan, coming up behind him un-
perceived, struck him so violently on
the back that he had difficulty in regain.
Ing his boat, where he laid for some
time in great pain, and though he mln.
aged at length to pull home, he wa.
confined 70 his bed for more than a
week." Another marshman was struck
On the thigh in the same manner. and
described the force of the blow and the
pain occasioned by it as something in
credible. The Abbotsbury swans,
though not pinioned like the Norfolk
buds, and leading life OF freedom on
the verge CT the sea, seen to know by
instinct that the protection and safety
which they obtain at Abbotsbury are
more than enough to compensate them
for the loss of the free iom and indie
pendence which an isolated nesting
place might give; and with the excep
ton OF about twenty pairs, they congre.
gate as has been described, abandoning
not only their natural instinct for isoa
tlon, but also much Of the combativencs7
with which this instinct is accompanied.
Fights between the cock swans do occur.
But the swanherd soon restores peace.
Ohe tine old bird which had quarrelled
with both of its neighbors was mada
happy by asemcircie of tamarisk boughl
stuck in the earth around its nest. and
SO clearly defining its territory.
\ Rats Queer Capcr.