Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:47 am, sunset 6:40
pm for a total day length of 9 hours and 53 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes
and 22 seconds shorter.
Clear and chilly but sunny
these past two days with temps from freezing to a high today of 39º and a brisk north wind. It
was hard to escape that wind: 17 to 30 mph with gusts to 43 mph! Forecast for
much colder temperatures down to 20º by Friday, then rising slightly to mid-30s
by Saturday with snow showers all next week.
On Sunday, October 15, I
noticed to my dismay that one cygnet of the resident TRUMPETER SWAN family was missing. Only two
cygnets fed with their parents at the Lagoon. The 4 ½ month-old cygnet must be
injured or dead, or something traumatic separated the family as they are not independent at this age. This is the sight I
have dreaded since they began to fly.
I called the Alaska Sealife
Center to find out if anyone had reported an injured or dead cygnet. No.
Fingers crossed!
I immediately began walking
along the Lagoon boardwalk, searching under the power lines. The lines are
still up, but the plan is to move them underground next month. Until then, they
are a continued threat. Down and back, no cygnet. I drove over to Nash Road and
walked along the power line there; nothing.
Monday I thought to check
Preacher Pond across the highway from the Nash Road intersection adjacent to
the power lines. There, all alone, was the missing cygnet! He was floating
quietly, bill tucked under his wing, napping. The north wind pushed him towards
the south end of the small pond, upon which he woke up and paddled back towards
the center and immediately tucked back in.
I could not see any obvious
signs of injury, but he was clearly not acting normally. He should be feeding
and preening. He should be with his family. Had they visited the pond a few
days ago? Did he hit the power lines and flutter back to the pond, slightly
injured, as his family flew away? Why was he stranded here?
Tuesday around 11:30 am I
received a cryptic report of a swan with fishing line tangled around its foot
near the parking area at Tern Lake. The details were fuzzy. Again I called the
ASLC in case this was a rescue operation, but Tern Lake is in the jurisdiction
of the Anchorage Bird Treatment Center. I decided to drive the 38 miles to
verify the report and if possible, cut the swan loose if attached to the bank.
I just had to see if I could help and it was a fine fall day for a drive.
Mountain shadows and ice
covered most of Tern Lake, but in a sunny section along the Sterling Highway
the water was still open. The resident Trumpeter Swan family with their single
cygnet fed peacefully and normally. I observed for a while and did not see any
sign of fishing line, but they were not close to the road. No idea what might have happened earlier to inspire the
report, but apparently all seemed fine now.
All seemed fine except for the
encroaching ice. Two MALLARDS stood on the nearby ice to verify its existence. I
have heard that this cygnet does not fly. He is old enough to fly, but
apparently has not or cannot. If he does not fly, they will be trapped by the ice. With
the continuing cold weather, the ice is bound to encroach even closer.
Then what? Will the parents
abandon their cygnet to survive? Will they find the only open water flowing
under the culvert and remain stranded together until winter or a predator takes
them? Is it possible to catch three, strong, healthy swans and move them to
Cooper Landing or Skilak Lake where they might overwinter and find food without
flying?
I had to leave them,
pondering their fate on the way home. Later, someone mentioned that they had
seen the cygnet try to fly, but floundered. Perhaps there IS fishing line
wrapped around the wings? None of my photos are close enough to tell. That
would certainly explain why it has not been able to fly.
I checked on the cygnet at
Preacher Pond on the way home. Still napping, hopefully healing from whatever grounded him. At
one point, he woke up and actually raised up his wings part way; they looked
symmetrical. Maybe he just doesn’t know where to fly to find his family. I hope
they return to find him and they can ALL fly together back to the Lagoon.
It’s a scary time and place
to be a single cygnet, and farther north, a bad time to not be able to fly even if you are with your parents.
More bad news this afternoon.
I checked on the Lagoon swans, and only found one adult and one cygnet. O no! Once again,
I walked the boardwalk up and down and found nothing. I drove over to Nash Road
and walked that stretch; nothing. Nothing at Preacher Pond either! Now we’re
missing 3 swans: two cygnets and one adult!
I received a report of one
adult and one cygnet at Nash Road around 6 pm, but do not know if the family is
split and I somehow missed seeing the two earlier, or if the Lagoon swans flew to Nash Road. I hope this has a happier
ending than what I found today.
Stay tuned!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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