Meet the gay swan couple with eyes only for each other!
April 14th, 2010 - 1:57 pm ICT by ANILondon, Apr 14 (ANI): Visitors at the Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset get to witness a rare sight of togetherness-a gay swan couple, who have set up a nest together.
The happy couple are the only gay swans among more than 1,000 birds at the reserve.
The pair show no interest in their female companions and only have eyes for each other during the mating season.
“The two birds both hatched in 2002. They have been together for several nesting seasons and basically keep territory as if they are a nesting pair,” the Daily Express quoted swannery spokesman Dave Wheeler as saying.
The pair flock together at the start of the nesting season in March and engage in rituals associated with a breeding couple.
Abbotsbury Swannery manager John Houston added: “The swans get together and form a nest. They sit on it and act in every way as if they were a pair expecting to lay eggs. It is quite sweet.”
Like most couples, the swans are known for the occasional lover’s tiff, but are quick to sort out their differences.
“I hear that they have some spectacular fights with each other but they always make up and get back together,” said Houston.
“We have more than a thousand swans here in the reserve and they are the only two doing this. We realised they were together because the swan herds can obviously tell the difference between the males and females as the cobs (males) have a much larger bump on their nose.
“They are sexed and tagged at birth so we know from their rings that they are both male,” he added.
It is only the second time a male pair have formed a relationship at the reserve. (ANI)
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Tags: abbotsbury swannery, bump on, daily express, dave wheeler, dorset, female companions, flock, happy couple, herds, john houston, male pair, males and females, mating season, occasional lover, rare sight, rituals, swans, tiff, togetherness, two birds