Swan shooting at Fish Lake

I have never been known for my writing skills but I will attempt to tell this story of a successful wildlife rescue.
Late Friday afternoon, Oct. 29th, Mary Wicklund, our local and truly dedicated and caring wildlife rescuer, received a call from a local hunter that he had seen an injured and bloodied  collared Trumpeter Swan on North Dike in the Fish Lake Wildlife Area. An attempt was then made to capture it but due to the ability of the swan to still fly short distances and the approaching darkness, the rescue attempt was called off. The calls went out and a time was set up for 10 AM Saturday morning to meet up at North Dike flowage on Fish Lake Rd, to attempt another rescue. Mary and her husband Donny pulled up with their kayaks, canoe and large fish nets. Chris Spaight, our local game warden interrupted his vacation and came out with his wife and young son. Steve Hoffman, the Crex Wildlife Biologist came.  Barry Wallace came all the way from Hudson  (Barry is the “Swan Man” from Hudson akin to the “Swan Lady” of Monticello ). Dave Roelfs, myself and a few other bystanders were also there.
After spotting a collared swan lying in the grasses a fair distance out, waders were donned, the strategy was planned and big fish nets were handed out to Dave and I. We had it easy. Our job was try and net the swan should it try to get across the road thus preventing if from getting into the water on the other side of the road.  Soon 4 kayaks and a canoe were launched into the flowage. The strategy is to make a large circle around the swan  and slowly close the circle at the same time cutting off access to other areas of the flowage. This is not as easy as it sounds as sedges and grasses must be maneuvered around, over or through.  Soon the kayaks were speeding off and shortly most were not even visible from the road. Slowly they started making the circle smaller and by this time the swan knew something was going on and started swimming back deeper into the flowage but was cut off and flew back towards the road. It was at this time that I noticed the bloodied right wing through my camera lens and realized the extent of the injury. Now a young man standing on the road grabbed an extra kayak off the trailer, donned a life preserver and joined in.  Several times the swan was surrounded and would fly a short distance away from the kayaks but with each flight you could tell it was becoming weaker and weaker. In the meantime the injured swan’s mate was flying in circles overhead probably not understanding that everyone was there trying to help it's mate.  At this point the swan was so exhausted it couldn’t fly anymore.  The rescuers surrounded it but weak as it was it still evaded several attempts to catch it. Finally Donny caught it and handed it off to Steve. The interesting thing about swans is that the majority of times,  as soon as they feel a hand around their necks, they become completely docile and make no further attempts to escape.  The swan was brought into shore and Mary carried it up to the road and set it on the side of the road while Donny ran to the truck to get the transport crate. The swan laid it’s head on the ground and there were fears at this time that he might not make it.  He was put into the crate and Barry brought it to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville, MN.  Chris was pretty sure it was a shotgun injury and this was confirmed by the vet at WRC in a call to Mary later that day. They found 2 pellets in the swan. One in the soft tissue in it’s right elbow and another pellet was lodged in it’s abdomen. It appeared as if another pellet had gone through it’s body and out his back causing a lot of blood loss. They said they would not try to remove the pellets as it would probably cause more damage. Now the good news….the swan should recover. They plan on keeping it for a couple of weeks to allow the swelling to go down in it’s elbow and allow it to recover from the blood loss. In addition, tests showed it was lead free which is also excellent news.

Now on to the question of how or why this swan was shot. Was it an accident? Was it deliberately shot?  If it was accidental, an ethical hunter would have reported it. We will probably never know but hopefully the investigation will result in an arrest and conviction. Many thanks to "Sammy" the hunter that reported this.

Kathy J.

(double click on all photos to enlarge)

Donny Wicklund ready with the net.

Steve Hoffman bringing the swan in to shore.

Mary Wicklund carefully transferring the swan from the kayak to land.

03A was hatched in Totogatic Lake in Bayfield County in 2003. He is the male of a breeding pair that have been nesting on North Dike for the last few years. He will be returned to North Dike where his mate is waiting. Hopefully he will recover completely and will return next spring to sire many little cygnets.