An area around the swans' nesting site has been cordoned off.
Maria Servidone, 19, of East Longmeadow, is chased by one of the two swans living at Heritage Park in East Longmeadow Wednesday as she and a friend were walking across the grass in the park. The attack occurred one day after a mother reported what she said was an unprovoked attack on her family. One or both of the swans have reportedly been aggressive in trying to protect their egg in a nearby nest.EAST LONGMEADOW – A Springfield couple who regularly take their son fishing at Heritage Park said they routinely see youths harassing a pair of nesting swans there.
“The kids go over and do it,” said David Ulitsch, sitting near the water’s edge Wednesday afternoon, not far from the spot where the swans had reportedly attacked a Springfield woman and her two young daughters the day before.
“When the kids get out of school and this place gets packed, they instigate the swans,” said Heather Ulitsch.
The swans are nesting along the bank of the pond that is closest to Route 83, also known as North Main St. That area has been cordoned off to keep people away.
The woman told officials that the swans appeared to single out her two young daughters for attack. All three suffered minor injuries.
A photographer with The Republican, meanwhile, captured what appeared to be a swan’s unprovoked attack on a 19-year-old woman, Maria Servidone of East Longmeadow, as she walked near the pond with a friend on Wednesday afternoon.
Servidone, posting later on Masslive.com as Maria_ Servidone_429, stressed that she did nothing to provoke the attack.
“I would like to clear up that I did absolutely nothing to the animal. I do not think the swans should be removed or put down, as I am a huge advocate of preserving wildlife and respecting nature. I am not a foolish swan-botherer. I think I just got caught in a freak moment, and a funny picture happened to be caught.”
Moments before Servidone’s encounter, that same swan went after a surveyor who had been working near the sidewalk, some 40 to 50 yards from the water.
One of the swans could be seen sitting on the nest about an hour later and the other could be seen swimming placidly on the far side of the pond.
Another Springfield woman, Mariovy Gonzalez, said a swan attacked her 5-year-old son was they walked near the water on Saturday morning.
“My son was terrified,” Gonzalez said, adding that the swan was initially on the other side of the pond and rapidly swam over towards them and “It started pecking him.”
The attack, she said, was unprovoked. “We weren’t feeding it or anything,” she said.
Gonzalez said that people working at a nearby plant and bake sale intervened and managed to chase the swans away.
The swans are reportedly under the supervision of the Department of Public Works. Personnel there, however, were not immediately available for comment Thursday.