Not their swan song

HOUSTON — Two abandoned tundra swans and an injured trumpeter swan taken in by the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center earlier this summer are now well enough to take their next step toward wild independence.

The tundra cygnets were found July 3 near Lake Clark, having been abandoned along with two other siblings after their parents had apparently been killed. The bystander, who witnessed two of the cygnets being attacked and killed by seagulls, stepped up and rescued the remaining birds, bringing them to safety at the bird sanctuary.

Kent Briske, executive director of the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center, said all three swans will be transported Wednesday to the Northwest Wildfowl Farm and bird refuge in Everett, Wash., where they will begin flying lessons at their new home on the facility’s spacious ponds.

The trumpeter swan, found near Big Lake, was badly injured with three broken vertebrae in its neck when Briske and his team of volunteers took him in, Briske said.

“We had him X-rayed by Dr. [Ronald] Williams in Palmer to see what could be done,” Briske said. “He said nothing could be done surgically to mend his broken neck, so we began rigorous massage therapy and helped his neck bend back in the right direction.”

The three swans share an outdoor facility at the center.

Briske said many badly injured and abandoned birds are brought to the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center each year for recovery. There were more than 20 birds at the facility on Monday.

While at the Houston center, the swans were fed six heads of lettuce and five cups of cracked corn, vitamin supplements and oats each day. The bird center operates primarily on donations and contributions from local businesses.

Eagles, kestrels, hawks, robins, merlins, ducks and owls are among the birds in need that occupy the nonprofit center until they are well enough to be released back into the wild.

For more information on the wild birds at the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center or to schedule a bird presentation, visit Akwildbirdrehab.org.

Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.