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Trumpeter Swan Watch (Trumpeter Swans
& Sheila Lawrence, "The Swan Lady"),
Monticello, MN (Dec. through Feb.) wrote: March, 2005, posted: 070207
Here are
pix of trumpeter swans, which winter on the banks of the Mississippi (River)
in Monticello, MN. There is a warm discharge of water from the nuclear power
plant which the swans enjoy. Sheila Lawrence, a.k.a. "The Swan Lady," who has
been living on the Mississippi, started feeding them in 1987-1988. At that time,
there were only 15 swans wintered. Since then, she has continued to feed them.
As time went on, more and more swans came back to winter there. Last winter
(2005-2006) lots of Trumpeter swans wintered there from Dec. through Feb. There
were around 1,600* trumpeter swans at the peak of the season. It's lots of work
to feed 1,600 trumpeter swans, ducks, geese, coots, etc. Now I think the City of
Monticello helps her feed them. We shot the pix on March, 2005. Yes, March
is a bit late for a good swan watch. Sheila recommended to us , “We should have
come in December.” As you may or may not know, some time ago, trumpeter
swans were thought to have vanished form the entire nation. This swan population
rebounding in Minnesota is awesome news. If a swan has dark color on the neck
(as you can see in Photo 1) it means the swan is a juvenile. A swan juvenile is called a
"cygnet."
Note: Usually, it's kind of illegal to feed wildlife (we think it depends upon
states. At least, feeding wildlife is usually a bad idea), but this swan case is
an exception because (as I mentioned before) the swans were thought to have been
extinct.
For
more info on Sheila and Trumpeter Swans, check
here.
* St. Paul Pioneer Press, Late 2006 (or early 2007)
”Sheila, Really appreciated your info on Trumpeter Swans.”
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