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This is a story of both extraordinarily good fortune and extraordinary people.   Some of you may even call it miraculous. A couple of years ago we told you the story of Marcel, the resident swan of Lake in the Clouds.  We ended our tale with winter approaching and Marcel unable to fly. What would happen to her? We were all concerned about her, but we knew she was a survivor.

Well, Marcel is still with us and therein lies our story.  She is out there honking as I write this.  Marcel is afflicted with “Angel Wing” on her left side leaving a badly deformed wing.  It has rendered her unable to fly. The Water Fowl Society informs us that “Angel wing occurs when the growth of the wing feathers outstrips the muscle ability to hold the wing in the natural position. It is nearly always due to an imbalance in feeding: too many calories and a deficiency of essential elements. (White bread is usually the villain here). Left untreated, the bird will be unable to fly properly.”

Whatever happened to Marcel, probably occurred after her arrival as clearly, she was able to fly here. When her fellow swans left (flat leavers that they are) for warmer climes, Marcel remained here at the lake.  When first seen, she also had a fishhook stuck in her beak and fishing line entangled in her left wing.  Initially, we thought that was the cause of her deformed wing. Our friends and neighbors, Tina and Bob, kind and caring people, were bravely able to remove the fishhook and untangle and remove the fishing line. Fish and Wildlife organizations were called by several residents and callers were told that they (the organization) would care for the swan if “we captured it and brought it to them”.  Easier said than done. Swans are big, strong and can be mean and violent and they don’t like to be captured.

Marcel is a trumpeter swan. There are three species of swans in North America. The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) and Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus), sometimes known as the Whistling Swan, are native to North America. The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is an invasive Eurasian species that has been introduced and now breeds in the wild. Trumpeter Swans are the largest. Although awkward on the ground due to short legs set behind their center of gravity, swans can walk more than a mile at a time.  That is a key element in our tale.

So, what happened during that winter years ago?  Swans require open water to survive, even just a little bit of open water. Our Lake in the Clouds will freeze during the winter. The neighboring lake, Lake Jamie, does not freeze completely. There are people at Lake Jamie who take care of her during the winter.  Collectively, the group of Clouders and Jamiers captured Marcel – not without some effort – and transported her to Lake Jamie for that winter. Evidently, through the years, Marcel has now discovered a path to Lake Jamie from Lake in the Clouds.   In subsequent winters and springs, she has been able to walk over to Lake Jamie where she is fed and spends her winter vacation. A new connotation of the term “snow bird”?  Recall that swans can walk up to a mile.

That brings us to this winter when Lake in the Clouds did its annual freeze.  Marcel kept retreating to open water until by late December, there was none. She was marooned on a lawn. Her friend Tina tried to feed her.  Just like in past years, she would not eat if there was no open water. That night it began to snow. The next day she was gone. That same day, Dave, who takes care of Marcel during her Lake Jamie residence was taking a walk on the appropriately named and very rural Misery Road. This was a walk he does not usually take. Today he did. He was both a mile from his home and a mile from Lake Jamie.

Recall that this was during a snowstorm.  Suddenly, he saw a swan trying to run through the woods, flapping its wings and honking frantically. Who else could it be but Marcel? He ran into the woods in front of her and herded her towards the open space of Misery Road.  Recognizing Dave and his voice, she calmed down but continued to walk slowly towards what she thought would be Lake Jamie although she was not even close.  There is almost no cell service on Misery Road.  Yet, somehow, Dave got a signal and called Constance of Wildlife in Need Emergency Response of Pennsylvania. They know Marcel and have assisted in the past. He also called Bob and Tina. Marcel, now exhausted, sat down to rest.  Tina and Bob arrived shortly afterwards, and Constance arrived after a 45-minute drive through the heavy snow. Marcel, still exhausted, was carefully encircled, and gently captured with large fish nets.  This obviously took a lot more time and trouble than I have described and was not done easily.  It was snowing.  It was cold. And Marcel was not happy. She was then put in a large animal transport container, covered with a blanket and transported in Constance’s van to Dave’s house.  There she was released to find open water and food (corn is a favorite) and her winter home. 

 Evidently, while making her trek from lake to lake, Marcel became confused and lost in the snowstorm.  What are the odds that she would encounter someone she knew when she was over a mile from the safety of the lake, in deep woods.  In turn, he was a mile from his own home taking a walk he almost never takes.  Also, who’s cell phone worked in a “dead” area, enabling him to contact the perfect people, who just happened to be at home, or in the office, and available for assistance?  A miracle?  We’ll let you decide.  Certainly, these were miracle workers.

Spring has now come (barely, after all its April in the Poconos).   A few days ago, Tina’s husband, Bob, in his boat, paused during his fishing for a chat as I was sitting at our dock.  We heard Marcel honking and I asked how she was doing. He related the tale of Marcel’s winter snowstorm adventure and rescue and how Marcel had discovered how to walk between the two lakes.  He continued with a description of further adventures.

With Marcel safely headquartered at Lake Jamie he and Tina believed that was it for the winter. She would return in the Spring.  He was wrong. In February he heard a familiar honk on the front lawn. Marcel was back and hungry.  She had a couple of reasons return to LITC. First, there was now open water thanks to the mild winter and secondly, she had been bullied by migrating swans at Lake Jamie.  Swans are very territorial. We note that Marcel has been bullied periodically through the years at both lakes. Tina defends her when she retreats to their lawn. She waves a hockey stick at the attacking swans while Marcel hides behind her, peeking and watching.   So, Marcel was back and even though it was a surprise early arrival, they were ready for her. “You won’t believe our basement!” he said.  “It is filled with bags of corn and assorted treats donated by kind people at both lakes.”

Last year Marcel had a mate.  Tina named him Miguel. Miguel deserted her as winter came. I asked if he was also back.  “Not yet” was the reply, “but Marcel has a new beau”.  Evidently, she met him at Lake Jamie – no name yet.  He is lame.  Walks with a limp. She has Angel Wing. Kindred souls? He followed her over from Lake Jamie.  They have been keeping company for weeks now. I remarked on how the tale of being lost in the snow and the extraordinary rescue was inspiring and heartwarming.  Then we heard a series of honks and answering honks. Bob, looked back in the direction of his house, sighed, and said “yes, and now she’s having sex on our lawn”.