Humboldt's Trumpeters depart together


Humboldt's pair of Trumpeter Swans spread their wings and departed this world Tuesday afternoon, according to Humboldt Parks Director Clayton Vorland. The pair were at separate locations, the male at the SOAR Raptor Center near Carroll, and the female on the pond in Humboldt. Fred (left) and Wilma (right) are pictured in May 2015. Humboldt Independent file photo.

Humboldt Parks Director Clayton Vorland said the city was heartbroken Tuesday afternoon to find out both Trumpeter Swans had died within a short time of one another. They graced the city ponds by the Highway 169 Bridge for the past 12 years. Vorland is hopeful the Iowa Department of Natural Resources can find at least one swan for the city.

The city of Humboldt reported some unfortunate news Tuesday, March 2. Both Trumpeter Swans, Fred and Wilma, the largest flying birds in North America, perished within a short time of each other. To find out more, we posed some questions to Humboldt Parks Director Clayton Vorland.

1. What was the extent of Fred’s injuries, how long was he at the raptor rehab near Carroll and what was the diagnosis? Evidently he wasn’t improving.
A: From what I was told is that it just looked like joint deterioration/arthritis of his knee joints. He was to the point he couldn’t get up and even if you picked him up, he wouldn’t stand and he would just fall back down. They tried to work with him to try and get him to stand up on his own but he was just not improving at all. He was taken to SOAR (Saving Our Avian Resources) on Dec. 31, 2020.

2. What time did you find out that he had died?
A: I was informed that Fred had been put down shortly after finding Wilma.

3. Any idea what happened with Wilma? Had she been sick? When was it noticed that she too had perished?
A: After talking with Dave Hoffman with the DNR, he said it is very common for swans to get a respiratory infection over the winter months and die in February/March. She had not been acting any different than normal but generally swans will not show signs of weakness. I received a call from a lady around 1 p.m. Tuesday that informed me she was pretty sure that Wilma was dead. So we went over to check on Wilma. By the position she was in, it had appeared she was sleeping, but unfortunately after walking out onto the ice we confirmed what the caller had suspected.

4. How long have we had the swans? How many offspring? Do swans survive better in pairs?
A: We had this pair of Swans for roughly 12 years. They had a total of seven cygnets that survived and were released into the wild. I’m not sure if they survive better in pairs.

5. What will you recall about them?
A: The many ups and downs caring for them while hoping for cygnets each year. Trying to catch them and their cygnets each year to clip their wings so they couldn’t fly away. Catching the cygnets in the spring to get them to the DNR to release them into the wild.

6. What’s the chance we get another pair from the DNR?
A: I have talked with Dave Hoffman with the DNR and he is going to see if he can find us a new pair. He said he was pretty sure he could find a female for us but wasn’t sure if there was any males that needed a home but would do some looking and let me know.

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