By Pepper Parr
February 19th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
The weather was great!
Michael Jones talks to Liz Benneian about the turnout for Family Day – it was great.
It had been a tough weekend weather-wise but it changed for Family Day and particularly for those who took the opportunity to gather at LaSalle Park and watch the Trumpeter swans and walk among them.
People walked about the swans while those with impressive camera equipment were clicking away.
The swans were at one point on the very edge of extinction and in some communities they are still at risk.
At feeding time the birds cluster and poke away at the food. The birds with light brown colouring are younger birds.
But at LaSalle Park on Monday they were out there for all to see. Liz Benneian stood at the entrance telling anyone who would give her two minutes more than they ever thought they would know about the swans and the problems and victories that the Trumpeter Swan Coalition have experienced.
The Gazette sponsored a photo contest with the Coalition. There wasn’t very much in the way of lead time but at the end of the day there were more than a dozen entries with more to come.
There are some stunning pictures that will be shared once the judges have done their job.
Liz Benneian uses every opportunity she gets to tell the swan story.
The Coalition shares the waterfront space with the Marina – that relationship gets stiff from time to time. With changes on city council there appears to be a much better relationship coming to the surface.
A swan about to take flight.
The public participation was good – and the people on hand to tell the swan story were exceptionally well informed.
They mate for life and swim around in pairs much of the time. Is there a lesson here for the rest of us?
The swans gather in a small cove at the eastern end of the waterfront park.
Congrats to the Trumpeter group for doing an excellent job in presenting the ongoing story of the Trumpeter Swan. They were able to explain the importance of the LaSalle site as an importance wintering location, key to their long-term survival. The other key information related to the wing-tagging program for monitoring swan migration/movement within the province and providing an insight into breeding success. Congrats also to the swans–a rough count of 130 was estimated.
The swans are beautiful and it really is a nice story BUT why are there no stories about the numerous complaints from all over the City about the abysmal ice and snow removal?
And if you haven’t noticed, the Federal Government is embroiled in a major scandal and Burlington is represented by 2 Liberals. Why not get their take on the situation or can they not suck and blow at the same time?
Absolutely beautiful!