Sojourn of the Swan

Ocracoke had a lovely visitor this spring, one never before seen on the island: a Trumpeter Swan! (In fact, there have been no reports of a trumpeter swan anywhere on the Outer Banks prior to this.) And I was here to see it!

The swan was first noted on March 5, soon after a Nor’easter which left me stranded off the island for an extra day. The water was at a record low in the Pamlico River and sound and ferries did not run for several days. This in itself was new for me, being stranded off the island and unable to return! Gave new meaning to “waiting for the ferry”!

When I first saw a picture of the swan on Facebook, I was disappointed that I might not get to see him (actual gender unknown) before he rejoined his family. So when I got my first glimpse of him on the morning of March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, I felt the luck of the Irish was with me! More than that, I truly felt blessed and, upon first sight, I whispered a prayer of gratitude for the opportunity. Little did I know that I would have more than six weeks to watch him.

He was beautiful. Graceful. Huge. And mesmerizing. I couldn’t stop watching him. Or stalking him!

Pretty much every day (okay, every day!) I walk. On the rare days when I decide it is absolutely too cold or too windy or too wet (lightning is rare but that’s a big deterrent!), I walk laps around my little house. Usually I walk on the beach. Sometimes I walk in the village. Or both. But once the swan appeared, my walks always started on South Point Road where he was hanging out in the marsh, the ponds, or the ditch along the road. Often he was in a far pond back off the road (a vantage point from which he appeared huge), but occasionally he was in a pond closer to the road and a few times he was in the ditch that ran along the roadside; those were really special visits for me. I was able to hear his plaintive call. (A member of the Trumpeter Swan Society– yes, there is such a thing– thinks he was calling out in search of family!) I got to see him up close, watch his feet come in and out of the water as he swam, and then watch as he gracefully moved from swimming/ floating to walking towards the pond.

The Trumpeter Swan was considered nearly extinct in the 1940s. A flock was discovered in Alaska in the 1950s and restoration efforts since then have increased the population. It is thought that this particular swan probably came from the Midwest. Our concern here was that, being a first year swan (called a cygnet– great word for Scrabble and Jeopardy!) he might not have the instincts necessary to get him to leave once was blown off course by the storm. The last time I saw him was on April 29, before I left the island for a workshop. He was seen a couple of days after that and has not been seen since. We assume/ hope that instinct did indeed take him back to his family.

This swan is the largest water bird native to North America (for more information about swans in general and this one in particular go to http://www.ocracokeobserver.com and search for the two articles posted by my friend Peter Vankevich, including my own video recording of his call) with a 6-8 foot wingspan and weighing up to 30 pounds.

I had the good fortune of spending part of more than six weeks with this magnificent creature. I had hoped to see a snowy owl this winter; several years ago Ocracoke had a snowy owl visitor and I was hoping it would return while I was here.  That didn’t happen. But the Trumpeter Swan, with his prolonged stay, more than makes up for that.

There was the mystery of where he actually came from and whether he would leave. And there was the fun of learning about him and sharing him with others. But most importantly, there was the beauty, the majesty, the grace, the peacefulness… and the anticipation each day as I went looking for him. The Trumpeter Swan is yet another gift from God in my time here on Ocracoke.