I see these swans from Spring onwards on our nearby canal on my regular walks; they are called Mute Swans because they are not so vocal as other swan species.   The serene beauty as they glide across the water hiding a ferocious guarding nature that you would not wish to mess with if their nest was nearby and they thought you a threat.   They mate usually for life, and if you want to identify the male of a pair he is the one with the much larger knob on top of his orange beak.

I have rarely painted a swan, but I found this very old painting which was intended to be part of a story called The Crow, The Castle and The Beanstalk.  This is Gretel waiting to be rescued…..