[Sca-cooks] Re: Turkey vs. swan

[Christiane]

Johnnae said:
Swans on lakes here in Michigan have a profound dislike
for modern watercraft.
 <snip>

The swans I encountered in Greenport, Long Island, as a kid were generally OK with us humans, but of course we fed them. The neighborhood we were in had a brackish marsh separated from the sound by a couple of hundreds yards of beach; the houses faced back on the marsh, and we would gather at our neighbor's dock every evening for the "swan parade." The swans and cygnets would come to be fed. We kids would save all the heels and crusts of bread for them.

One afternoon I returned from miniature golf with my great-grandfather and saw the swans had gathered at the edge of the marsh on the beach. I think I was 7 years old at the time. I grabbed the bread-bag and raced out there. I got fairly close to the swans and threw a piece of bread ... which the stiff breeze blew back to my feet! I stepped back and threw another piece of bread ... same thing happens again. The swans are getting closer; the big one in front flaps his wings and hisses at me. I realize he is as tall as I am, and his wings are huge. For a frozen moment, I stood there. Then I dropped the entire bag of bread and ran. I watched them feed from a safe distance!

I remember about 5-8 adult birds in this flock, and at least as many cygnets. There were black swans, too, which I understand are rare. My dad joked once about bagging a swan for dinner and that got me really upset!

What does swan taste like anyway?

Gianotta