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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
2013 Cygnets All Successfully Placed
In an amazing testimony to their parenting skills, all six cygnets of Stan and Wendy became viable juveniles and were placed in pairs for...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
Pippa Falls To Avian Botulism
Pippa, a 4 year old female, died of avian botulism toxin a few days ago. She was a sibling of Susie, and lost out to Susie for the...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
The 2014 Cygnets Have Arrived
Stan and Wendy performed their annual hatching, getting six babies in the water on Day 2, or May 4. For some reason, by Day 4 the flock...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
Alan Passes Peacefully, Beverly Survives
Alan and Beverly were the oldest pair from the nests of George and Gracie. Alan was found still in the water on June 29 with no signs of...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20172 min read
Stan Battles Illness, Lee Fox's Rehab Successful
When Stan was absent for two days at the "daily feeding frenzy", it was on to the bicycle to scour the golf course for his whereabouts. ...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
The Long Hot Summer
While the hopes for a successful first brood for Sully and Susie were tempered by their young age, the results were spectacular. They...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
Tweaking The Veterinary Processes
The cygnet processing in May had three goals; 1) pinioning, 2) microchipping, and 3) gender testing from blood feathers. From the time...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20172 min read
Return of the Cygnets
As of today, three of the eight cygnets remain in Stan and Wendy's territory. They are no longer social and the parents will soon move...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
Capture and Release
With only one of four cygnets captured from Stan and Wendy, the process of capturing the three had to wait until the parents decided it...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
Predicting the Unpredictable
What a hot dry spring. Imagine sitting on a nest for 35 straight days with such conditions. Both breeding pairs were taxed to the max,...
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David Novak
Dec 28, 20171 min read
RIP Stan: The First Named
When the Observer began their chronical of the Longboat swans, I was asked, besides Alan Stone's George and Gracie, about the names of...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20172 min read
Saving Wendy
With Stan away, never to return, Wendy went about her parental duty to raise the three cygnets in their home territory. To the north,...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
What? They Can Fly?
As they say, the best laid plans of mice and men and swankeepers will always go awry...or something like that. The two cygnets of Sully...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
The Loss Of 2016 Cygnets
The good news was that Susie and Sully did not nest in the same sand trap as they did the previous two years. The bad news was that...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
Principled Gifting I
Of the five cygnets from 2015, three were placed on LBK. The two males from Susie and Sully were designated as "excess" since the...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
The Name Game...... Shirley, Shirley....
First, names are important and, second, when I put up a slide of the names of LBK swans, it mesmerizes the audience. So here is a...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
Principled Gifting II
The male pair being harbored at Camelot Lakes were awaiting placement elsewhere, and Eric and I did our best to explore all options. ...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
It Takes Heart.....and Smarts
I've always said that swan care comes with surprises, but it's all teachable moments. With the people of Sunnyside Lakes so motivated,...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
Why Not the Zoo?
A phone call out of the blue from Sarasota Jungle Gardens on problems with their swans started it all. One swan had died and the other...
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David Novak
Dec 27, 20171 min read
So Long, Good Buddy
Eric came to LBK to learn how to care for his swan pair at Camelot Lakes. When I saw him take a hard fall capturing an adult swan, and...
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