As I sit behind the scenes and quietly read about the mute swans in Olympia,
the following :

There are currently 3 known mute swans flying about the Olympia area.
Yes, they are beautiful, and there are several species that universally fall
into this category.
Yes, they are an invasive species.
Yes, they are a problem for our native wildlife
and
Yes, they are classified as a deliterious species by WDFW in this state.
Meaning, hazardous to our native wildlife.
Thus they are not legal in this state--owning, having, transporting,
breeding, trading, selling, importing...you get the idea.

Swans stir something inside us, whatever the swan species. It is unique to
each person although there are similarities among us to be sure. They are
big and usually graceful.

Imagine for a moment they were zebra mussel, lizard, snake, or house sparrow
large. Would you still feel the same about them?
Looks can be deceiving.
I am not advocating extermination here, capture from feral free flying to
some other alternative.

Meanwhile, we need to keep track of these birds and get them out of the
wild.
Thank you for your reports and keep sending them to tweeters or me.

Martha Jordan