Documenting a chase between a Mama swan and a Canadian goose

Mama Swan Ain't Got Time For Your Sh*t: The Slowest High-Speed Chase I've Ever Seen

By tych0_21 | MyMycoBlog | 17 Apr 2021

A few weeks ago, I came across a pair of Mute swans that have made their nest on a lake near my home. I visited the lake this afternoon hoping to get a few pictures of the pair. Not only was I lucky enough to find them both out on the water soon after arriving, but they were very active today as well!

While initially paddling side-by-side, they soon split ways to search for food, dipping their long necks and diving for the aquatic vegetation growing from the bottom of the lake.

The male swan decided to paddle right on up to the wooden walkway that stretches across the southwestern corner of the lake, which gave me a great opportunity to get a few close up shots while he continued to graze.

While taking pictures of the male swan, I suddenly heard loud honking coming from the other side of the lake and a glimpse of an aerial chase.

...Well, I guess it's time that I head over to the other side of the lake then.

Once I reached the other side of the lake, I got a better idea of what I was witnessing. From what I can tell, a Canadian goose has gotten too close to mama goose's nest for her liking, but rather than fly off after being challenged by the much larger swan, it continued to circle around in the shallows.

Considering that both are top-tier territorial assholes when it comes to bird species, particularly when protecting their respective nests, I decided to settle in for the show. Let the war of attrition begin.

Being the lighter bird, the goose seemed to taunt the swan by letting her get just within pecking range before taking flight for a short ways to make some distance between them.

Mama swan was pissed.

While he may be honking to himself now, he doesn't appreciate what he's up against: the mute swan. As physical manifestation of white-hot rage and unfettered territorialism, she's not going to let the goose off the hook easily.