History

In the summer of 1960, a mated pair of mute swans, cygnus olor, were given to Loch Alpine by the Park Board of Stratford, Ontario. The chairman of the Board, JE Petersons, DDS, was the brother of Robert Peterson, Loch Alpine's first resident.

The swans, named Anthony and Cleopatra, wore leg bands, were permanently pinioned and were inspected by a US border veterinarian.

The coy Cleopatra and her devoted cob made Greenook Lake look like a picture postcard but then the sun dimmed and winter was upon them at which time the Petersons began to think that this gift would require some effort. They erected a small snow fence on the ice surrounding the sitting birds, fed them bread and chipped holes in the ice for water which froze over before the birds could get much of a drink.

All photos courtesy of Nona Credille.

Anthony, circa 1963.

Miraculously the hearty birds survived that harsh time but its effects were evident when Anthony and Cleopatra did not nest. In fact, they seemed not to want to stay - they flew over to the Huron River each day. Being pinioned they could only fly short distances and not gain much altitude, so on one such trip, Cleopatra collided with the ever present Edison wires and was severely injured. This injury and the past hard winter left her in such a weakened condition that she did not survive the next winter - even though they had discovered that the spillway area at the Midway dam was a perfect wintering haven.

Her death convinced me that I, with help from all the residents, would take over their winter care by feeding grain (wheat and corn), bread and lettuce on a daily basis. The water at the spillway was always open providing protection and warmth and freedom. As a result we have never lost another swan due to lack of care.

The summer of 1962, Dr. Peterson gave us another swan but something just wasn't right - the two were never "a couple". When winter came the new swan flew away and we realized the new Cleo was actually Leo!

When summer came, Rose Peterson and I trekked to Statford to fetch back a crated Cleopatra II. She was a hit in a big way. She chose to nest on the island in Greenook Lake and produced 10 cygnets. Mother nature must have had a chat with our new, ambitious Cleopatra and let her know that this small lake could not handle ten more swans so over the next 26 years she settled down to broods of about 5.

We don't pinion the cygnets so each December or January, the young birds, with some parental persuasion strike out on their own. By now, the mute swan, which is a native of central Europe, is becoming noticeable in Michigan and the Atlantic coast states. From here, the migrating birds take the eastern flyway toward Chesapeake Bay. They are lazy migrators and stop wherever they find open water.

I stated that Cleopatra II was here for 26 years - but her "Anthony" was with us for just 10 years. Both birds survived the 1968 flood even though their home, the lake, did not. The birds (2 adults and 3 cygnets) were transported to a friend's pond on Webster-Church Road where they lived until the pond froze in December. Our lake was restored by then and Cleopatra was taxied home by car, but the three cygnets were excellent flyers and took to the air. It is true that birds will return to the place they were hatched because two of the three were home before we arrived with Cleopatra. The third cygnet was found walking towards home on Webster-Church Road by Loch Alpine resident, Bob Eisenhart. Bob drove him the rest of the way. Anthony, who had been pinioned, was a very strong bird and he took to the air and was gone all winter. Early in the morning of April 1, 1969, he swooped out of the sky and to the delight of Cleopatra and myself was ready to nest. This was definitely Anthony because he still wore his leg band but sadly it was to be his last summer in our sunshine.

An acquaintance of Peterson's took a pair of newly hatched cygnets to their home on the Huron River at Foster Bridge. They clipped the wings and then failed to think of winter consequences. The helpless birds wandered the frozen river until Christmas when Jan Schmidt and Jane Becker decided it was time to rescue them. These two brave residents tied themselves together and began following swan footprints in the snow and found the huddled birds on Barton Pond. With great difficulty, they returned the birds to Anthony and Cleopatra II who by now did not want to see them. Anthony tried desperately to get them into the air but their wings had been clipped and they would not be able to fly again until after they molted the next summer. I can only guess that Anthony met with an accident as most of his urging was at night and no one saw what became of him. His leg band was never turned in.

The two returned cygnets were named Caesar and Brutus and each fought for the right to become the mate of Cleopatra II. Caesar drove Brutus off and has been our resident cob for these 30 years. Brutus returned briefly the next two winters. He appeared on Bridgeway with a Whistling swan mate and the two returned the next winter with one dusky cygnet.

In 1989, when the 26 year-old Cleopatra II died, I took her body to MSU's Veterinary clinic and the pathology report indicated heart failure. It was springtime, a time when there should have been lots of swan duties for Caesar to be tending to - but without a pen on a nest or cygnets to protect, Caesar was confused and lonely. He found a white rubber football in the water and whiled away the time playing on it. The ball would shoot out from under him and he would chase it and sit on it again and again. All summer he went about busking, giving the appearance that he was protecting a nest so other birds stayed away. The next March, while ice still covered the lake, 5 swans flew in, sat for hours and conversed in their mute way with Caesar about his widower-hood.

After nearly a week of visitations and posturing, Caesar made it clear that one particular pen could come to his spot of open water and have a drink - that was and still is - CLEOTOO.

Cleotoo has hatched large broods every year but the mortality rate is high because the extensive weed beds make it hard for adult swans to see the lurking snapping turtles. Last year six of her seven cygnets were taken.

This year of 2001 will see the lakes restoration well under way and perhaps the water will again look like it did in 1960 when the swans first appeared at Loch Alpine.