Swan life on Longboat Key called into focus

Vicki the swan has been to Save Our Seabirds twice in one month; her survival is now in question. Friday, April 20, swan keeper David Novak took Vicki in for her second visit.

“She was exhibiting her original symptoms, and I wasn’t going to wait until the very last minute,” Novak said. “She was getting worse.”

In early April, Vicki was taken to SOS because she wasn’t swimming normally, incessantly shaking her tail and showing signs of digestive issues. She seemed back to normal and was returned to home a week after SOS administered fluids and antibiotics.

But it didn’t last for long.

“If I hadn’t pulled her out in the next couple of days, she would have been dead,” Novak said.

When she arrived to Save Our Seabirds for the second time, she had a fever and digestive problems. They gave her a more intensive treatment of antibiotics, fluid and cleaned her digestive tract. Results of a blood test indicated she may have more permanent damage due to a prolonged infection. She was released nine days later when she seemed stronger.

“She couldn’t truly be a swan in the wild (at SOS), so we took her back,” Novak says.

She was returned to the nest, where she and her mate, Henry, then necked for 30 seconds. The second reunion was “off-the-charts spectacular,” according to Novak. He believes she has a 50/50 chance of survival.

“She’s either going to make it or not going to make it. We can’t do anything medically for her,” Novak says, “It’s sad, but that’s just the way it is.”

Novak asks that people make a donation to Save Our Seabirds in Vicki’s name in honor of the work the non-profit organization has done and its pledge to continue swan life on Longboat Key.

In other swan news, life continues. Wendy’s and Beverly’s nests should hatch any day. Each nest has approximately six eggs. Both of their mates, Stan and Alan, remain close to the nests — a sign hatching could be any day.