AN UNUSUAL visitor has been making friends with the native wildlife on Dovercourt boating lake this week.

A Trumpeter Swan, native to North America and Canada, has landed on the lake on Lower Marine Parade.

Eileen Tyrer, from Harwich's Swan Watch, said: "Our normal swans have some black on their beaks but are mostly yellow, whereas this one's is completely black.

"I looked it up and they come from Canada."

Despite initially being shy, the exotic swan, which is a protected species in the US, has settled in with the local birds.