What is a mute swan thinking?
Gliding with the quiet confidence of something that can break your arm.
Worth saying plainly: the broken-arm thing is mostly a myth. A mute swan can absolutely hurt you - the wings carry real force and the bird weighs as much as a large cat with a two-metre span - but documented arm breaks are close to nonexistent. Falling in the water while backing away from one is the actual risk.
The aggression is almost always a nest. Mute swans pair for years and defend a territory hard between spring and summer, and a cob putting on the busking display - wings arched, head back, coming at you - has decided you are standing somewhere you should not be. He is usually right.
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