This is the first time that I have seem to see large numbers. It seems that I saw some last winter but can't say for sure. Often times this winter while driving I have seen large flocks flying in the air. Then about two weeks ago I saw 3 swans flying. I said to myself. Even they have tried to stay this winter. I know that some birds that we think of as migrators (Robins) will stick around if there is enough food. But this seems rather unusual to me. That or I just haven't noticed this in the past.
Are the swans Trumpeter or Tundra? There is a good population of Trumpeter Swans in the UP (as well as in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and southern Ontario), and they don't winter as far south as Tundra Swans. It would be unusual for Tundra Swans to leave their wintering grounds on the mid-Atlantic coast, this early.
The population of Canada Geese has exploded in the US, and they are nearly everywhere. Many of them do not migrate, and will hang around wherever there is open water. We have them here in Maine all winter along the coast, and even on some of the rivers that stay open.
