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 was time to clear their territory as preparation for a new brood. The process was one of waiting for an opportunity, that is, finding a cygnet on land, coaxing it further away from the water, boxing it into bushes or walls. This worked for the first two cygnets who, once captured, were placed into a custom sling and car ferried to the pens at Camelot Lakes. The last one, and the strongest one, required teamwork with Stan. He would chase the cygnet onto a bank where I would attempt to grab it. After about a dozen back-and-forths, and with a slew of spectators, success.
With all four at Camelot Lakes, Dr. Don, the mobile vet, came and drew their blood for gender testing. Results: two of each. Unfortunately, one of the males perished in a strange accident soof afterward. The two females were brought back and placed as a pair on the Islandside Golfcourse. The remaining male was placed on a private lake in eastern Sarasota county.
Timing? Within two weeks, the 2015 nests were expect to bring a new generation of baby swans.