Through the Lens

A Scholarly Swan?

Fri, January 20, 2012

Many morning my days start with phone calls and texts that are of particular animal sightings that folks think I would be interested in photographing. Especially unusual sightings.  Early yesterday I got the first of several texts - “There’s an injured trumpeter at Waterloo High School” .
I called the school, instructed them about calling a CPO, and letting the local DNR biologist know about the swan, and asked that they keep students and faculty away from the injured and probably frightened bird.

Upon my arrival at the High School - it was quickly apparent that what we actually had was Mute Swan rather than a trumpeter.
Mute swans are smaller than trumpeters, have a distinctive orange beak and black knobbly forehead.
An escapee from some one’s farm pond I announced to the staff at the school. While not an endangered and protected trumpeter,  the swan did need to be removed and treated. ‘School staff assured me that they had contacted Dr. Dwight Boehm from Waterloo Animal Hospital, along with Monroe County Animal control.
While waiting fro the good doctor to arrive the swan was gracious enough to pose a bit for me, and gave me an opportunity to educate onlookers about the differences between trumpeter swans and mute swans and the importance of mistaking neither for a snow goose when hunting.
The only obvious injury I could find was a skinned “knee : where it appeared the swan had clipped something coming to land in the small pool in the courtyard.

Soon Dr. Boehm and his staff arrived with a plan and quickly had “Houston” ,as the swan has been named , confined and were speeding off to Waterloo animal Hospital where Houston will be nursed back to health .

All’s well that ends well - and it was exciting to be part of “Saving the Scholarly Swan” even it was merely a mute and not one of my beloved trumpeters.

Enjoy our fun look at yesterday morning’s “rescue” !

This photo slideshow created with Smilebox

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