The black swan in Islington this week

A SUPER-RARE black swan has been seen gracefully gallivanting around Islington’s waterways, in what experts have described as a “miracle sighting”.

The Tribune received word that a black swan, native to Australia, had been spotted at the City Road Basin and a wild swan chase ensued. The bird, known as a Cygnus atratus, could be seen this week flirting with the canal’s more familiar white swan and competing with ducks for food.

Darren Hills, who lives in a flat that backs onto the canal, said he spotted the swan and, after researching it, discovered it was a “complete rarity”.

He told the Tribune: “I was just sitting up there, having a smoke and watching the ripples in the water, and all of a sudden it was there looking at me.

“When I saw it I thought ‘I’ve never seen one of them before’ and since then we’ve seen loads of people coming down to look at it.”

The birds are considered extremely rare in the UK, and experts said they had never seen one in the Regent’s Canal before. There is one wild bank of black swans in Devon, where the birds are nurtured by experts, but it is understood that the vast majority of the solo bird sightings are escapees from private collections.

A survey in 2012 found just 37 nesting pairs across the whole country. A spokesperson for the Canal & River Trust said that the birds can be “pretty mobile”, and may choose to fly into a new location, where they look to establish a base.

After its first sighting in mid-October, the swan has been rather elusive, travelling up towards Hackney and King’s Cross via the canal.

Mr Hills, who ran a fruit stall in Archway for 15 years, added: “I was a bit gutted because it disappeared for a few days, but now it’s back. I’ve been reading up about it online. I’ve spoken to the Canal and River Trust people too.

“I’m going to get some cabbage and sweetcorn because apparently that’s what they like to eat.”

Meeting some of the other birds on the waterway

Mr Hills is a lifelong Islington resident and has lived in his flat for five years where he enjoys the “brilliant wildlife” on his doorstep.

He added: “I’ve always lived in Islington, I used to swim in this water as a kid. And now they’ve got terrapins in here, tortoises and everything.

“Crayfish. You name it. It’s mad down here, you can hear it in the morning sometimes when it’s all going off – all the seagulls making noise. It’s brilliant.”

In August, the Tribune reported how waterway campaigners had suggested that the last two swans in the borough had disappeared. The familiar female pen swan had reportedly moved up the canal to another location as her partner was taken to a swan sanctuary.

Now, it seems she is back and joined by a new friend.