Headed south

October 25, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

BUTTE - A ballet of trumpeter swans that grew from about half a dozen to approximately 100 birds gathered at Manmade Lake on the south side of the Knik River for almost three weeks in late September through mid-October.

The swans have never congregated at Manmade Lake until this autumn, according to longtime residents Mark Simpson, whose parents homesteaded by the Knik River bridge in 1950, and Agnes Quaas, who lives off Knik River Road.

The presence of these elegant birds mulling around in the summer-time swimming hole has some residents wondering what has driven the birds away from traditional pre-migration sites, and what has drawn them to a lake that wasn't formed naturally.

Quaas, whose home of 10 years affords her a view of the basin, said she typically see swans at Swan Lake, Mud Lake and across the Knik River before migration.

&#8220I remarked to my husband, ‘How come the swans aren't on the sloughs of the river?' Then, I drove by Manmade Lake and saw them there,” Quaas said. &#8220This year, they're at the swimming hole, and we were so shocked. We think there's too much shooting going on,” she said.

Tom Rothe, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, speculated there might be some duck hunting going on in the Knik River basin that prompted the birds to move to the swimming hole. But there might be additional reasons the trumpeters have changed their usual habits this fall.

&#8220It's not uncommon for the swan to hold out in one spot, especially if there's plenty of food,” Rothe said.

Could swans have focused on that lake because it contains edibles that didn't exist there before?

According to Quaas, Manmade Lake, also known as the swimming hole, was created in the mid-70s when Knik River Road was built. The gravel extracted left a hole that filled up with water from the glacial river, she said.

&#8220As lakes mature, they can support different types of vegetation and algae,” according to Laura Eldred, an environmental program specialist with Department of Environmental Conservation.

&#8220But, I can't confirm that that's the case, because the lake hasn't been studied in the past,” Eldred said.

Rothe agreed with the speculation.

&#8220I think the idea that vegetation would be growing there makes sense. They tear stuff up, so there should be plant material floating around or on the shore,” Rothe said.

The stop-over at Manmade Lake provided residents with easy access to bird-watching. The first half of the month, many people - often with cameras in hand - admired the birds. Families took sunset walks around the lake. On colder days, some people eyed the graceful swans their cars.

Simpson enjoys photographing wildlife. He counted 38 trumpeter swans Oct. 8, and then saw more than 60 the next day.

&#8220They seem to be in there, feeding away, stopping to gather up the flock and head south,” Simpson said.

On Oct. 11, Todd Katke set up his camera, trying to capture both birds and sunset.

&#8220I canvassed the area looking for the swans. One night, I was chasing the sunset and came down here to find the swans,” Katke said.

Those birds departed from Manmade Lake for the season on Oct. 13, curving their long necks into S shapes and flapping their 8-foot wings as the sunset filled the basin's sky with orange. Two of the birds had gray feathers, indicating they were immature.

The swans, which weigh between 15 and 30 pounds, often congregate in the Valley's waterways until their young, called cygnets, become strong enough to migrate, Rothe said. This year, an early spring and warm summer may have helped the cygnets mature more quickly and prepare for the migration south sooner, Rothe said.

&#8220People are really impressed with these big white birds along Knik River. People in Anchorage watch them at Potter's Marsh. About 100 swans spend the winter in Cordova. The water flows and stay open there. So, those folks have a special chance to see swans,” he said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.