Alan the swan dies of unknown causes

Unofficial swan keeper David Novak received three calls June 29 about a dead swan from residents and police.

When he arrived, he discovered that Alan the swan was floating lifelessly in the water.

Alan was 18. Novak isn’t sure what caused his death but said old age and disease are possibilities.

Hatched from the nest of original swan pair George and Gracie, Alan was named for the late Harbour Links resident Alan Stone, who purchased George and Gracie as an anniversary gift for his wife, Beverly.

His mate was named Beverly in honor of Beverly Stone. Since 2006, Alan and Beverly had graced the waters of the Bayou, Sabal Cove and Winding Oaks.

Alan and Beverly produced many nests over nearly a decade, but none of them yielded a surviving cygnet. Their nests often had infertile eggs. In another year, they had two sickly cygnets that died shortly after they hatched. Last year, they had seemingly healthy cygnets that were eaten by a river otter. Their latest nest produced a viable cygnet that did not survive because Beverly focused her energy on the infertile eggs in her nest.

Swans mate for life, but so far, Beverly seems to be coping well with the loss.

“She’s roaming her territory as normal but obviously missing her mate,” Novak said. “The behavior is pretty much normal. I think it’s important that they see what happened to the mate. If all of the sudden, the mate disappears, that’s a problem.”

Last spring, Henry didn’t see Novak remove his mate, Vicki, from the Longboat Key Club’s Harbourside golf course when he took her to Save Our Seabirds, which was supposed to be Vicki’s new home. In Henry’s mind, perhaps Vicki was missing. Henry left his home and flew into another territory occupied by two females and a male that he tried to fight, perhaps in search of his mate.

Novak found a home where both Henry and Vicki could live together at the lakeside home of Lakeland veterinarian and swan-care expert Dr. Geoff Gardner.

Novak eventually plans to place Beverly in the Islandside territory occupied by females Clare and Greta, and then, place two male pairs in Alan and Beverly’s Harbourside territory. That means all of the Key’s swan territories will be full, and Novak will find new homes off the island for future generation of cygnets.

Novak said he gave Alan a “nice burial” in an undisclosed location.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]