52 Nebraskaland • June 2020
T
he marsh had a lot more cattails
and bulrushes than most
Sandhills lakes, concealing
the trumpeter swans we were after.
The swans themselves were doing
their best to hide by swimming in a
different direction than the large and
loud airboat zigzagging through the
marsh. So, when we burst through a
wall of vegetation, and there were four
swans right in front of us – two adults
and two young, known as cygnets – we
were not sure who was more surprised,
us or the swans. The action instantly
intensified as the swans scattered,
and we gunned the airboat and swung
around to pursue one of the adults.
The big male, as it turned out, was
already in the process of wing molt;
having lost the last of his loose wing
feathers, and unable to fly, he lunged
for the protection of the vegetation. I
managed to get the large hoop net over
his head and rolled him up in the rest
of the net. We had our swan.
We were after these swans to study
their movements and fidelity in the
Sandhills – their faithfulness to return
to the same wintering and breeding
areas each year. To help identify and
direct conservation actions for these
birds and their habitats, these studies
are critical to help us better understand
