![‘These Animals Chose Me’: Swans Befriend Florida Man, Nest in His Yard, Bring Their Babies Into His House [VIDEO]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F08%2F02%2Fid5438996-et-web-swan-CJ-Webber-700x420.jpg&w=1200&q=100)
Soon after he moved in, a pair of swans started entering his backyard; and after a time, they would proudly bring their new babies to show him.
Years later, Mr. Webber acts as a protective guardian to the swan family. They tap on his door when they want his attention, sometimes wander into his house, and demonstrate a unique kind of affection for him.
“Around seven years ago, I just went through a divorce,” Mr. Webber, 49, told The Epoch Times. “And I was restarting my life, a new chapter in my life.”
Within a month of moving in, Mr. Webber looked out into his new backyard and saw a swan gliding by. A month later, there were two swans. The birds aren’t native to Miami, and sightings are relatively uncommon. Strict laws surround them, such as the necessity of trimming their wings, so they are prevented from flying.
“We’re not known for swans,” said Mr. Webber, who was born in Miami. “So, when I first saw them, I was curious. I think like most people, I have a curiosity for nature.”
He threw bread in an attempt to coax the beautiful creatures to come closer, but the swans seemed uninterested. It wasn’t until doing a little research and trying different tidbits that Mr. Webber figured out what they like to eat, and the pair started to think “Alright, we might be friends with this guy.”
At first, the swans would only come to the water’s edge, but bit by bit—over three or four months—they began entering the property’s backyard. And then, the two started knocking on Mr. Webber’s sliding glass door, asking to be let in. Then, with the ice truly broken, they decided to use his backyard to build their nest.
“That was what really clinched it for me,” the animal lover said. “Swans in general are very stoic; they don’t like to be touched. Even amongst themselves, the only time they touch one another is for a brief time during mating season.
“The way they show affection is a little different than you and I would show it. So, the fact that they nested and would bring their babies up to me, to me that was saying, ‘I trust you. You’re my friend.’ Because they are very protective of their babies.”
The first year that happened, Mr. Webber had returned home from work to see the mom grazing on the grass in his front yard, accompanied by six or seven fluffy baby swans. Seeing her human friend, she walked towards him.
“I just said, ‘follow me’” Mr. Webber said, “and they all followed me into the house. The next year, she did the same thing. So, every year, it’s our little tradition. Having six or seven baby swans rocking around the house can be a bit of a dirty undertaking, but once a year is fine.”
Mr. Webber has observed that, typically, the swans will lay between seven and 10 eggs. Maybe one will fail to hatch, and a couple of others won’t make it. The eggs hatch around April, followed by an eight-month period when the parents raise the babies.
Usually, by the end of the season, there’ll be four or five cygnets that make it “on a good year” since the herd can fall prey to a number of predators, including people.
“Some years, I have only two or so make it, which is challenging,” Mr. Webber said. “Because in South Florida, we have alligators; we have big turtles. When the swans are really small, big birds can come down and take them away.
“And a couple of years, I’ve actually had humans come in and take them. So, all sorts of issues arise. Every year is a different story, which keeps it interesting.”
Sometime between October and December, the parents chase their offspring away, one by one.
“The mom chooses, all of a sudden, which is ready to fly away,” he said. “One day, she’ll be super friendly to them, and the next day she’s chasing them down the lake. It’s like telling your kids, it’s time to go off to college; go off and go out into the big world.
“The reason they do that is they can’t have their cygnets there. Because a month later they start to mate, and then they start to nest and do the whole process over again. They'd have, like, 30 babies still around them if they didn’t chase them away.”
This is one of his favorite stages in the cycle because once the parents chase a young swan away, Mr. Webber will catch it, and place it with a host family he has already taken time to find. There is no money involved; Mr. Webber simply locates people that live on a lake, who show dedication, and hands out two cygnets per lake.
There are four or five lakes in his community that now have swans.
He said: “It’s really fun; we all network together, we help each other out. It’s been a really good experience, getting to know my community better and bringing everyone together through these birds.”
The behavior of the swans is fascinating. As well as the differences between the male and female adults, Mr. Webber says the mom is “more curious” while the dad is very masculine, letting him know “who’s the boss”; they each have individual mannerisms and characteristics. Both can appear very harsh towards their young.
“When the mom and dad see a weak baby, it’s often left for dead. They just can’t sit there and wait for it, because they have to get the other ones to the lake, to build up their motor skills and get them swimming,” he said.
“I’ve actually seen the father kill a weak baby, so I try to step in and get a weak one before something bad happens to it.”
This happened with a swan Mr. Webber named Seven, so called because he was the seventh baby to hatch, and the runt of the litter. Not able to keep up with his family, the kind executive hand-raised him. Shortly afterward, the cygnet’s brother, Five, was desperately in need of help.
“A baby alligator got his wings, so I got to raise two little baby swans together for a few months. I try not to touch the babies at all—I try to let the parents do it naturally. Out of respect to the parents, I never touch the babies. So, this was the first year I got to hold them, and they would just climb on me. They saw me as their parent, and that was the best experience I’ve had, bonding with the babies like that.”
For Mr. Webber, having the swans choose to use his backyard as a sanctuary is a real blessing—especially since he’s able to record and share clips of them with others. It’s a neat way for humans and animals to interact, he believes, because “instead of just putting them in cages and saying ‘Okay, you’re my pet,’ they’re free to come and go as they please.”
“That type of relationship with animals is unique, and something I think we should all entertain a little more,” he said.
While there’s a limit to what he can do for the beautiful birds, Mr. Webber says he feels obligated to protect them.
He said: “These animals chose me; I chose them in return. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. I’m someone in their lives they trust and they let me get close, but they’re still guarded, as they should be.
“Animals go through a lot. Everyone’s out to eat them. So, it’s a neat thing to see them slowly trust, but still be slightly guarded.”
