I am responding to Alan Schwarz’s July 9 letter [“Needs to Change”] about the mute swan issue because my experience here in Clinton is quite different from his in Old Saybrook.

We live in Clinton where the Indian and Hammonasset rivers meet. We have had the same mute swan couple here, year-round, on the Indian River for years. They nest up river north of Route 1 and produce between two to six cygnets every spring. They are quite territorial against other mute swans but not toward other bird life. Besides the swans we have on our wetlands and on the river and harbor, year-round, ducks, Canada geese, two great blue herons, migrating ducks, and seagulls. In the warmer months, we enjoy the additional company of three great egrets, four snowy egrets, four glossy ibis, more seagulls, Canada geese, and an osprey pair that has three hatchlings every year.

My birding experiences here in Clinton Harbor are quite wonderful and I hope something can be done to improve Alan Schwarz’s birding experiences in Old Saybrook. As you can see, I have good reason for believing mute swans are not nuisance birds.

Nancy Webster

Clinton