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In Wareham, the invaders are cloaked in white -- feathers, that is

Print | Comments () Posted by John Ellement February 17, 2011 04:27 PM

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By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

They’re trapping people in cars, hissing at bank customers, and blocking traffic. A flock of belligerent swans has invaded the town of Wareham.

“I was cleaning out my car, and I turned around, and they had me cornered,” said Kered Savoia, an employee of Wareham Barber Shop.

Savoia said she escaped from her car after waiting a few minutes for the swans to waddle away. She hopped over a stone wall, and entered the store through the front door. She thought she was safe.

Minutes later, they returned.

“You could see their heads out of the back windows of the door,” Savoia said. “They’re kind of a bit of a nuisance, because they pooped everywhere on the back steps. My father, who is the boss, he was pretty mad.”

Friday afternoon, customers at the Sovereign Bank were inconvenienced by one swan in particular.

“It hissed at our customers,” recalled Kimberly Hansler, manager of the Sovereign bank Wareham branch. “It wouldn’t let them leave or enter the branch.”

She said one person apparently fed the swan on Thursday, and that it returned the next day in search of food. The swan loitered near the backdoor, menacing anyone who came near it.

“We had a couple of customers that jumped over the railing to get out,” Hansler said. “One fed it bread so they could get out. The customers were able to eventually leave, but the swan didn’t leave. He kept wandering around the back parking lot.”

“It’s very, very strange.” Hansler said. “I’ve never seen them come that close. They’re definitely hungry; that’s what the issue is.”

Hansler said the bank called animal control, but that they never responded. Eventually, the swan left the parking lot, she said.

But not all are bothered by the swans. Jim Kalkanis, manager of Minerva’s Pizza, said many residents stop by the Agawam River, where the swans reside, to feed and watch them. A flock of swans stops in Wareham every year on their migration path, he said.

“This is the first year I’ve seen them come up past the street and onto Main Street,” Kalkanis said. “They usually stay in the water. They have their nests made up and they don’t bother anybody.”