Read the excerpt.

the nineteenth autumn has come upon me
since i first made my count;
i saw, before i had well finished,
all suddenly mount
and scatter wheeling in great broken rings
upon their clamorous wings.

in what way does the sight of the swans in “the wild swans at coole” by william butler yeats the speaker measure the passage of time?

he measures the time between his first count of the swans and his present count.
it is easier for him to remember the past when he is surrounded by the swans.
he counts how many young swans are added to the numbers at the lake.
he records the years in a book that he brings with him when he counts the swans.