Project Swan Safe Update

By Bob Phreaner

Good news for swans roosting on Kirner Pond (aka, Gaskell Slough)! When OPAS commits to a conservation project, we like to have pre- and post-data to confirm that our efforts have been effective. With this article, I’d like to review the Swan Safe Project, and report what I am seeing, now that the utility lines are buried along Kirner Road. Between 2014 and 2021 there were at least nine mortalities reported to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at this location. But the number of mortalities alone did not tell the complete story. Often birds would strike the power lines along the west side of Kirner Pond and limp off, or even fly off, only to die later from their injuries.

OPAS wanted to know the scale of the problem, so in November of 2017, I began frequent dawn observations. Soon, I witnessed swans altering their flight path as they tried to clear the power lines. I learned some patterns, like their tendency totake off into the wind to get airborne regardless of the threat of collision with the power lines. In December 2019, I started filming every flight to the west toward the wires. These videos revealed many close calls like a wing grazing a wire, which was only detectable by seeing the wire bounce on “instant replay” as the lucky bird flew on. Before the videos, we only knew about the dead or injured swans found near the power lines.

You can see some of this footage in John Gussman’s film “Sudden Impact” that he made to tell the swans’ story. Following the release of “Sudden Impact”, OPAS started a GoFundMe campaign, and within several weeks 290 donors raised $65,000.

But it took more than money to make the line burial happen. John Acklen shared his expertise in avian protection devices with PUD engineer Mike Hill’s crew, and WDFW biologist Shelly Ament worked with the property owners on the west side of Kirner Road. The power lines were successfully buried in August 2021.

*Swans flying safely 15’ to 20’ overhead after removal of power lines. Photo: Bob Phreaner*

This season, with the help of Vince Thrutchley, I have continued my daily roosting survey. I can report that we have recorded no swan deaths or injuries associated with Kirner Pond this year. When swans take off into the west wind, I no longer hold my breath for fear of catastrophe. The swans now routinely fly at the height of the former wires. As they fly just fifteen-to-twenty feet over my head, I can hear their wingbeats and their trumpeting calls and feel thankful that we, as a community, have eliminated one obstacle to swan survival.

I personally want to thank John Gussman, John Acklen, Shelly Ament, the PUD, the OPAS Swan Surveyors led by Laura Davis and Liam Antrim, the OPAS Conservation Committee and Board members, the property owners along Kirner Rd, and our indispensable Community of donors who have made the Dungeness Valley a little more “Swan Safe.”