This seems to be a recurring issue this winter from around the U.S. We have received several posts regarding one or two cygnets being left behind this year.

The parents may or may not return, the cygnet may eventually take-off on its own, or there may be something wrong with the cygnet and it cannot fly. So, if the first three options occur, there is no worry. However, if the cygnet cannot or will not leave, the chances that it can starve, drown or be accessed by a predator increases when the lake freezes.

Do you own the lake? Can you place an aerator in the pond to prevent the lake from freezing? This is the only way that the young swan will have a fighting chance to survive. If you cannot place an aerator on the lake, then you need to contact a wildlife rescue group that may be able to capture the young bird and place it in a more suitable habitat or at least hold it until the end of the winter.

Your main obstacle will be that most states do not care to help the Mute Swans and will not interfere, meaning they prefer to allow the birds to die. If this is a Trumpeter or Tundra swan (Black beak or black beak with a yellow coloring near its eye) then these swans may be of interest to your state officials.

If you cannot get someone to help, you may have to intervene with a private rescue team to help out the swan. You may also try to contact the Michigan State University School of Ornithology (Kellogg Bird Sanctuary) to see if they may help render a solution. Good luck and let us know how this situation progresses. The Regal Swan