After almost two weeks at Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge in Pefferlaw in the Town of Georgina, Lydia the trumpeter swan is healthy and back home in Peterborough.
The healthy swan was released on Sunday morning (June 15) at the same location where it was captured, along the trail on the west side the Trent canal just south of the swing bridge on Parkhill Road.
Steve Paul, a volunteer with Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario, captured the bird and drove it to the wildlife refuge on June 4, two days after Peterborough residents Karen Hjort-Jensen and Peter Hewett first noticed the swan along the trail behaving strangely.
Although the swan appeared healthy, it was staying in a location where it hadn’t been seen before and wasn’t moving away from people. Hjort-Jensen and Hewett watched over the swan for around two hours as they made phone calls to various local organizations they thought could help.
Through Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario, they connected with Paul, who met the couple at the location to assess the bird’s condition.
“It looked like there was something off about its left wing, like it couldn’t fully extend it,” Paul told kawarthaNOW in an earlier interview.
After consulting with Shades of Hope, the trio returned to the location two days later, where Paul captured the bird and placed it in a carrier for the 90-minute drive to Shades of Hope.
In an update provided to kawarthaNOW on Sunday, Paul says they learned several days after the swan was admitted to Shades of Hope that its wing was not injured — it had been snared with fishing line that prevented the bird from flying, something Paul did not notice when he captured the bird.
Aside from the fishing line, Paul says the swan was underweight and Shades of Hope kept the bird in care to ensure it was properly fed and healthy before release.
Paul adds that a decision was made to band and tag the swan, which helps researchers track their movements, monitor their health, and study population dynamics.
Krystal Hewitt, a licensed bander with Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario, visited Shades of Hope last Wednesday (June 11).
The swan was banded on its left leg and tagged with U33 on both of its wings.
When he captured the bird, Paul guessed it was around two years old because all of its feathers are white, which means it has moulted out all of its grey cygnet features, but he wasn’t sure of the swan’s sex. It was later confirmed the bird is at least two years old and is female.
With the bird’s gender confirmed, Hjort-Jensen and Hewett were given the honour of naming the swan.
They named it Lydia, after one of their grandchildren who is a passionate animal lover.
Paul picked up Lydia from Shades of Hope on Sunday morning and, with the help of Hewett, released it at the exact same location where he captured it.
Hjort-Jensen was also present for the release, along with Jennifer Semple and her daughter Amy Semple — Paul’s friend and a local bird watcher — and her partner Mike McKay, and Victoria Koppin.
Paul notes that Jennifer, who was in Peterborough to visit Amy and Mike, is a trumpeter swan lover from Elk Lake in northern Ontario who regularly enjoys watching swans in her area. As she was celebrating her birthday on Sunday, the release of Lydia was a special gift.
As for Paul, he is reminding anglers to always take their fishing line with them.
“Wildlife are impacted all the time by discarded fishing line, and in most cases these incidents can be easily prevented,” he explains.
He is also encouraging people to consider making a one-time or monthly financial donation to Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge.
Instead of making a financial donation, people can also donate items from the refuge’s wishlist, which includes items such as cleaning supplies, heating pads, feed dishes, grain, cat and dog food, and more.
“Shades of Hope takes care of thousands of cases each year, and donations help support animals in care,” Paul says.
To donate or to review wishlist items needed by Shades of Hope, visit www.shadesofhope.ca/savingWildLives.html.
With files from Megan Gallant.
