Wildlife Wonders

Connecting with Nature and Good Humans!

For those of you who have been following along, I mentioned my next article would be on the subject of Humanties Comeback, well I’m skipping it one more week, it seems the Trumpeter Swan Comeback tale needs to be elaborated with new information.

It is still telling about Good Humans helping Trumpeter Swans to this day. Because of a video going viral it had me do a bit more research and look up dates that coordinate to events happening in April.

I didn’t know Canada had a National Wildlife week in April, did you?

Global News reported with a clip called

I just loved watching others have magical sacred connections to my feathered friends and saviors.

And I love the synchronicity of the news calling it “Magical” In my last Article I let you know I decided on the title of the memoir Awaken Magic - Tagline: Ugly Duckling to Swan

I learned that the above video was part of National Wildlife Week in Canada. So I went on a search because I had never heard of this, it runs from (April 7 -13, 2024)

The website reads “

Dates back to 1947 when Canadian Parliament officially proclaimed the week a national week. April 10, 2024 is also the birthday of the late Jack Miner, a Canadian conservationist. He was often referred to as “Wild Goose Jack,” as he was one of the first conservationists to determine the migratory paths of North American birds and is credited with helping save the iconic Canada Goose from the brink of extinction.

I downloaded the video from Youtube and in the description, they wrote

“it’s a time to learn more about wildlife and appreciate just how fascinating wild creatures are.

Creatures like a pair of trumpeter swans, whose reunion after time apart was captured on video. Sweetest wildlife reunion that’s gone viral.”

With the release of my memoir, more people will discover just how special and magical these swans are.

Those dates are significant to add to the memoir and for me to aim to have the memoir published by April 10th, 2025!!!

As mentioned above “Wild Goose Jack,” was born April 10th, I will put a paragraph from Mr. Soul’s Desk about how they also helped the Comeback with the Canadian Goose before the Trumpeters.

Finally April 10th 2019, was the last time I saw Mr. and Mrs. Soul and said goodbye to them and their swans….and the day Mr. Soul entrusted me with a new purpose by handing me 40 pages of conservation knowledge and behaviors and love of their swan family and their history of repopulating this beautiful sentient species.

Photo - April 10, 2019- Three yearling swans in front of Mr and Mrs. Soul’s sold home.

From the Desk of Jim Soul

“A few years earlier, the Mounties had cleared us for a license to raise migratory Birds when we were involved in the Canada Goose restoration project.

With that now a success, it was time to try something else. Since we were already licensed and had a fenced Pond, perhaps we could help with the trumpeter swan restoration project. When we volunteered in 1993, there were less than 300 trumpeter swans in North America.

We were partnered with a bonded pair of pinioned adult trumpeters, Emily and Jacob. Emily had been shot in Alaska, when they captured her to help her they had to send her to Washington and her left-wing was amputated, and then she was resettled at Wye Marsh. There she bonded with Jacob, one of the earlier cygnet hatchlings from the program.

We were now officially in the restoration business. Our first year together we spent getting to know the birds, building a nesting raft, watching expectedly for eggs and setting up the aerator to keep the pond open for winter.

No eggs, but we did discover that on the winter ice, Emily, with only one Wing couldn't get back on her feet if she fell over.

She could only lie on her back spin around and trumpet. When we set her back on her feet, Emily always Honked her thanks.

Next spring, under Harry's guidance, we set up timers and lights in an attempt to mimic the nesting conditions in Alaska.

Nothing, no eggs, maybe we should have played more mood music and poured some wine.”

This video I filmed Norma Soul eventually getting the juvinelles to eat from her hand and she is letting us know when their moving date is and that Momma and Poppa swan had flown off the day before, so I never got to say good-bye to them in person.

Video -Penny and I same day just after we left visiting the Soul’s and Swans, it hadn’t really hit me, how meaning this day was to me and moving forward. My mind and emotions where in turmoil about were I was going to move to, while dealing with a Health Crisis. The Lady whom I serve giving me a gift to hang onto when life got even tougher to survive and feeling like Life hit me with its best shot….( that was just a warm up to covid shit)

But underpinning this was five days earlier I was dumped by email on my late mother’s birthday. I didn’t process that pain because I was in the one day at a time, one step at a time, just trying to heal and advocate for myself. Now I’m in the healing phase to really feel this now and let it go once and for all.

The silver lining was, I was actually getting my life back together, but so much had to fall away first.

Trumpeter Swans Comeback Restore Your Faith in Humanity the heartwarming story of the people involved to bring back the Swans from the brink of extinction. Before starting the restoration project there were only 33 Trumpters left in North America.

https://blog.cwf-fcf.org/index.php/en/national-wildlife-week-exploring-habitats/

“Magical” reunion of Toronto swan pair goes viral

Stay Magical

MM