I was thrilled last Friday to spot this Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) at Horn Pond in Woburn, Massachusetts. Growing up in a suburb of Boston, I remember visiting the Boston Public Garden and riding in the famous pedal-powered Swan Boats there. As a result, the mere sighting of a swan is enough to trigger fond memories of my childhood.
Readers of my generation (and maybe even younger folks) may recall that the Swan Boats were featured prominently in the beloved book “Make Way for Ducklings.” I was a little surprised to learn from Wikipedia that the Swan Boats have been in operation since 1877.
“Robert Paget first created the Swan Boats in the Public Garden in 1877, after seeing the opera Lohengrin with his wife Julia Paget. Inspired by the knight’s gallant rescue of the damsel by riding a swan across the lake, Paget decided to capitalize on the recent popularity of the bicycle and combine the two, designing a two-pontooned boat with two wooden benches and a brass seat on top of a paddlebox concealed by a swan. The driver would sit inside the swan and pedal passengers around the pond.”
One of the amazing things is that the Swan Boats have remained virtually unchanged since that time.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Stunning photos of the Mute Swan, Mike, highlighting the languid elegance of this beautiful creature–striated water patterns, exquisite. I loved hearing of your fond memories and inspiration in the swan boats, went to the link. How amazing those boats have been around this long and so loved. Easy to see why you have pleasant memories of it.
Thanks, Jet. I love your descriptive words, “the languid elegance of this beautiful creature.” It was a bit before 7:00 in the morning when I saw the swan and I even thought the early light was relatively low, I was afraid of blowing out the highlights of the brilliant white bird. As you can probably see, the light illuminated primarily the swan’s back side–it’s not the directional light I would have chosen, but somehow it worked out ok.
Gorgeous!