Nature Note

I just saw a group of four swans flying by, heading southwest. I thought at first they were geese, but their necks were too long and they were white. Late migrants? Although there are geese and ducks that overwinter here, in Lincoln Park, at least -- they have open water in the ponds and get fed at the Zoo. And there are also nature reserves in other parts of the city. But then, there's also the Mississippi Flyway.

History note: We always have a pair of swans at Lincoln Park Zoo. The Zoo actually began with a pair of swans, a gift from, I believe, Central Park Zoo, in 1867.